Journey of a Master
by QueenOfTheHeartless
Summary: After the league bumped the age requirement to be a Trainer up to fifteen Ash found himself with lots of free time, which was spent studying so he would be ready for his journey to be a Pokemon Master. Smart, Strong Ash. Slash-warning.
1. Chapter 1

Ash groaned slightly as he woke, struggling to open his eyes. He'd spent all night reading his books, too excited to sleep due to his upcoming Pokémon adventure… Ash startled as he opened his eyes fully and jolted upwards. The sun was shining brightly and a single peak towards his alarm clock told him one thing. He was late. He let out small shriek and jumped out of bed, throwing off his pajamas and putting on the clothes he had prepared for his journey. He ran out his room and down the stairs, rushing to put on his shoes and go to the Professor's lab as quick as possible.

His mother attempted to greet him on his way out but he was in such a rush he barely heard her. How could he have been so stupid? Not even a day into his journey and he already messed up royally. He could only hope the Professor still had a Pokémon for him.

After all the time, he had spent preparing, years upon years of studying in order to know everything he possibly could about all the Pokémon that existed and everything about their care and other things that would aid him on his adventure only for him to oversleep. Ash had always been somewhat of a genius, and with near perfect memory he sucked up information faster than nobody's business. Unfortunately, that didn't seem too help he as he was currently running along the streets of Pallet town. At the tender age of five he had already begun studying Pokémon under Professor Oak's wing, the kind professor having taught Ash everything he knew about Pokémon. Ash spent most of his days as a lab assistant to the professor, helping wherever he could and researching Pokémon in his own way.

At this point he knew so much and he was just itching to get out into the world and show what he could do. Sadly, things didn't seem to be working out too well for him as he was running as fast as he could to reach the lab.

Finally, after about ten minutes of running (thank god he began working out when he was younger so he could be strong enough to travel) he finally reached the lab. As he ran up the stairs of the lab he passed by Gary Oak, who was surely going to taunt him for being late so Ash just ignored him in favor of running. He reached the large door to the lab and rang the doorbell, only having to wait a short while before one of the Professor's assistants opened the door. "Oh hey Ash, I see-" The man began, only for Ash to run past him and into the lab, yelling "No time to talk. Got to run. Bye." To the man, who shook his head in amusement. Kids these days.

Finally, Ash reached the part of the lab where the Professor gave out the starters. Thankfully the white-haired man was still there. He could see the man's face brighten as Ash entered the room, though it was quickly replaced by annoyance. "Ash Ketchum! Why are you so late! I haven't taught you everything I know for the past years for you to slack of the second you start your journey!" The professor yelled and honestly Ash knew he deserved it.

"I'm so sorry professor, you see I couldn't sleep so I stayed up all night reading but then I woke up late this morning and I ran over as fast as I could. Please forgive me!" Ash said, stumbling through his words in attempt to explain himself to the professor, hoping to somewhat placate the man. The professor sighed, "Well, nothing we can do about it now. Let's just make sure you start your journey." He said and walked over to the machine that housed the starter's pokéballs. "Sadly the other three trainers have already gotten the starter Pokémon so you won't be able to start with the usual three." The professor said, making Ash feel a pang of disappointment but the boy quickly shook it off. "It's ok professor! Whatever Pokémon you have is fine if it means I get to start my journey!" Ash said, hoping the man still had some Pokémon Ash could use.

Oak looked at him before sighing. "Very well. Fortunately for you I still have one Pokémon prepared because I knew there would be four trainers coming today." The man said and pushed a button on the machine, causing a pokéball with a small lightning bolt to pop out. Professor Oak took the pokéball and released the Pokémon from inside, revealing a familiar yellow mouse. The very same Pikachu Ash had stopped from chewing through the power cables near the lab a few days ago. The yellow rodent glared at Ash who bent down so he could talk to the Pokémon.

"Hello! My name is Ash. I know you aren't the biggest fan of me right now but I hope we can become partners. You see, my dream is to explore the world and be the best Pokémon trainer out there, and I'd love it if you were by my side on my adventures." Ash said, shocking Pikachu in the process. The fact this human wanted them to be partners, equals was shocking to the small Pokémon, who expected his trainer to either be some cruel person or a clueless nobody. However, the boy in front of his seemed to be anything but. Instead of shocking him like how Pikachu had originally planned, the small rodent just sniffed his hand, which he had extended during his speech before nodding at the boy. He'd stick around with him for now, but if he turned out to be awful Pikachu could just ditch him at the drop of a hat.

Ash grinned and petted his new partner, scratching at the spot between his ears where he knew all Pikachu loved to be petted. The mouse let out a small "Cha" at his ministrations making him smile warmly. AS the mouse hopped up on his shoulder he stood, once more facing the professor, who looked on in astonishment as Ash managed to so easily tame a Pokémon who thus far had shown nothing but unwillingness at the prospect of having been captured. Honestly he hadn't been sure if he should have even given Pikachu to anybody, considering how wild the mouse Pokémon was. In the hands of a weaker trainer it could have resulted in the trainer's death. Thankfully Ash had this amazing talent to bond with Pokémon easily.

Ever since young trainers had started dying shortly after leaving for their journeys the Pokémon League had bumped up the age requirement to fifteen, something that disappointed a lot of kids who now had to wait five more years before they could start their journeys. Some just continued as usual while Ash devoted himself to leaning as much as he could so he didn't end up as just another statistic. Here he stood before him, one of the brightest minds of his generations on the way to his own destiny and Oak couldn't be prouder for the boy he considered his second grandson.

He beamed proudly at the boy and turned to grab the Pokédex and five pokéballs he had prepared for Ash. As he handed them to the boy he said "Good luck on your journey Ash, I know you won't disappoint me. Remember, be careful and have fun. Oh, and call as often as you can, I'm sure your mother would feel the same so don't forget ok?" The man said, smiling at the boy who nodded and took what the Professor was handing him. As Ash strapped the extra pokéballs to his belt he turned his head to Pikachu. "Hey, mind hopping down for a bit so I can scan you to see your moves?" Ash asked.

The small Pokémon nodded and jumped from Ash's shoulder, standing on the floor in front of him. Ash turned his new Pokédex on and pointed it at Pikachu before clicking on the scan button.

" **Pikachu, the Mouse Pokémon, this Pokémon has electricity-storing pouches on its cheeks. These appear to become electrically charged during the night while Pikachu sleeps. It occasionally discharges electricity when it's dozy after waking up.**

 **This Pikachu is Male and has the ability Static. It knows the moves Thunder Shock, Tail Whip, Thunder Wave and Quick Attack."** The metallic voice of the Pokédex chimed through the room, informing Ash about his new partner. "Wow! You're awesome!" Ash exclaimed looking at Pikachu. The Pokémon beamed in pride, puffing up his chest.

It hopped back on Ash's shoulder and the boy thanked the professor before turning and exiting the lab, the old professor smiling as he exited before returning to his work in the lab. As Ash walked down the stair of the lab, having already said goodbye the lab assistants, all of whom had wished him good luck on his journey, he saw his mother and few of the other people from around town waiting at the end of the steps. His mother greeted him as he reached the bottom of the steps. "Oh Ash! You shouldn't rush of like that! I told you to go to bed early yesterday but did you listen to me? Nope." She said, doting on him as always.

"Mom, it's ok, I got a Pokémon and I'm all good to start so there's no need to worry. And besides you're embarrassing me!" Ash mumbled at the end, squirming as a few people chuckled at Delia's antics. "That's my job as your mother! Now here's your bag. I've already packed everything you'd ever need inside. Its nifty how you can fit anything inside you know? Silph Co's technology is amazing. Anyway, be sure to call and remember to change your underwear!" She said, worrying that she forgot something. Her little boy was all grown up and finally starting his journey!

Ash blushed and just took his back without saying much but then proceeded to hug the woman, Pikachu jumping form his back to accommodate for the hug. His mom returned the hug feverishly as it would be the last time they'd hug for a while. As they parted she looked down and smiled at the yellow mouse who'd be accompanying her son through his adventures. "You look so healthy! Now, be sure to take care of my boy ok?" Delia smiled at the Pokémon who nodded his head, already in love with the kind woman. Maybe sticking around with this human wouldn't be bad at all.

Ash smiled at his mother sadly but shook his head, knowing he'd see her again. He gave her one last hug before starting to walk off, saying his goodbyes to everybody who'd came to see him off, especially his mom.

It wasn't look before he reached the top of the hill where Route 1 began. He breathed in the fresh air blowing through and stared at the plains before him. "This is it Pikachu, the beginning." Ash stated. Pikachu gave a cry of excitement as his trainer started to walk forwards.

A couple of minutes into the route Ash stopped beside a tree, dropping off his bag and stretching. "OK Pikachu, first thing we're going to do is head to Pewter to face the gym leader there. However, that gym specializes in rock type Pokémon so we need to catch a couple of Pokémon to help us out as well as train to make you and the others we catch stronger." Ash said. Pikachu nodded in agreement, knowing he had a long way before being the strongest of his species.

"First we're going to set up a training plan. I think it would be wise for us to work on the move Iron Tail, as well as working on your speed and power. What I want you to do is to start running twenty laps around this field." Ash said. Pikachu nodded and ran off, starting to run around the large grass field they'd stopped at as Ash looked through his bag to see what he had to work with.

As Pikachu was finishing up his last lap ash pulled out a bowl and filled it with specialized electric type food for him Pokémon, sprinkling in some vitamins that would help his Pokémon grow stronger. Pikachu finally arrived back at the tree where Ash was and collapsed in front of his bowl, panting from how tired he was. If he ever hoped on getting stronger he needed to increase his endurance. Pikachu sat down on its hind legs and smiled appreciatively at the yummy smelling food.

As Pikachu scarfed down his food Ash smiled adoringly at him, petting him softly. When Pikachu was finished, Ash cleaned up his dish before handing the mouse some Oran berries to bring him back to top shape. In a few weeks Pikachu, would burn off all the unnecessary fat and be at least twice as fast. As Pikachu finished his berries he sighed contently, only to startle as he heard a vicious caw coming at them. As both trainer and Pokémon turned they saw a Spearow flying at them, getting ready to peck the small mouse.

"Pikachu use Thunder Shock!" Ash cried. The small mouse nodded and jumped up before releasing an electrical blast at the incoming bird, who gave a cry as it fell downwards, crashing into the ground from the super-effective move. Ash gave a small victorious cry and threw a Friend Ball (Which his mother had packed for him) at the Spearow. As the small bird got sucked in Ash and Pikachu watched in anticipation as the ball shook. Finally, the ball gave off a ding and small sparkles, signifying a successful capture.

Ash and Pikachu cheered as they had gotten a new friend, and since Ash had used a Friend Ball Spearow was less likely to dislike Ash, as members of its species were known to do. Ash let the Spearow out of its ball and smiled at it, even though it glared at him slightly. "Hi Spearow! I'm Ash Ketchum and I'm going to be the world's greatest trainer. If you want, you can come with me and I promise to train you into the world's strongest Fearow." Ash said. The Spearow looked very interested and made the decision to go with this human. Ash smiled as the bird nodded at him in acceptance and took out his Pokédex, scanning is new capture.

" **Spearow** **, the Tiny Bird Pokémon, it flaps its small wings to fly. Using its beak, it searches in grass for pray. These Pokémon are very protective of their territory.**

 **This Spearow is Male and has the ability Sniper. Its known moves are: Peck, Quick Attack and Pursuit."** Ash smiled. "You're so strong! Together we'll make a great team." Ash assured, grinning happily at the small bird. Ash returned Spearow to his pokéball and decided to go further.

Within an hour Ash could see Viridian city in the distance. He was about to enter but he saw another small bird a little away. This time it was a Pidgey. Ash nodded at Pikachu, who smiled and jumped up, landing in front of the Pidgey, who squawked angrily and prepared to fight. A It launched a Gust attack and Pikachu, blowing him back slightly but the small mouse began resisting, standing his ground. It launched a Thunder Wave to stop Pidgey from using Gust or flying away. Then the yellow mouse launched a Thunder Shock. The bird wasn't completely out of it though and it launched a Sand Attack, however it was slow and sluggish and thus easy to dodge, which is just what Pikachu did.

Launching a final thunder Shock at the Pidgey Pikachu cheered in victory as the bird finally fainted. As smiled and threw a Pokéball at the Pidgey, immediately capturing it. He sent out the bird, along with his Spearow to introduce them to each other. Naturally the two birds weren't massive fans of each other as they were sworn enemies but Ash managed to calm them down, saying that they were perfect training partners for each other since they were both flyers. That seemed to placate the two and they turned away from each other with a huff, which made Ash giggle a little at their antics. Ash then scanned Pidgey with his Pokédex.

" **Pidgey, the Tiny Bird Pokémon, Pidgey has an extremely sharp sense of direction. It is capable of unerringly returning home to its nest, however far it may be removed from its familiar surroundings.**

 **This Pidgey is Female and has the ability Keen Eye. Its known moves are: Gust, Sand Attack, Tackle, Quick Attack and Double Team"** "You have so many moves! And you put up an amazing fight. You're going to be the strongest Pidgeot ever!" Ash said, making Pidgey chirp happily. As Ash returned the two bird he proceeded towards Viridian.

At last he reached the city. It was quite a bit larger than Pallet and had substantially larger building. Ash had been here plenty of times and still big cities unsettled him. The best course of action now would be to head to the Pokémon center, which is just what Ash did. However, before he could he was stopped by a voice yelling "You there with the Pikachu! Stop at once!" which he did. He turned and saw Officer Jenny walking up to him menacingly and gulped.

"Is there a problem officer?" Ash asked the incoming woman. "Yes! Have you stolen that Pikachu?" She asked him making Ash sweat-drop. "I'm sorry what?" Ash asked, because it was a ridiculous accusation, considering Pikachu was on his shoulder, not at all struggling. "You heard me! There have been Team Rocket sightings recently in Viridian and you seem suspicious. Show me some ID kid." Jenny said. Ash thought that was stupid but sadly there was nothing he could do. He just pulled out his Pokédex and made it show his ID, which included his name, picture and Pokémon currently in his possession.

After hearing the Pokédex our Officer jenny sighed and apologized to Ash, before offering to drive him to the Pokémon center, which Ash kindly accepted. After getting dropped off in front of the center Ash thanked the Officer and walked off as quickly as possible, wanting to get away from the paranoid Officer. He entered the center and walked up to the front desk, where he was greeted by Nurse Joy. "Hello, and welcome to the Viridian City Pokémon Center. How may I help you?" She asked kindly. "I'd like to book a room please. And have my Pokémon checked out." Ash said, handing her his Pokéballs and Pikachu. She nodded and handed him a room key with the room number written on it before walking off with his Pokémon.

Ash decided to call his mom and Professor Oak as he waited for his Pokémon to get healed. Ash walked over to the large videophones and phoned his mother's number. It wasn't long before the woman picked up, a towel wrapped around her head. "Ash! I wasn't expecting to hear from you so soon!" She said, smiling brightly at him. "Yeah well I had to catch up somehow. How are you?" Ash said, hoping his mom wasn't too sad about him leaving.

"I'm ok, frankly I care more about how you are. You didn't get hurt, did you?" She asked, voice full of concern. Ash shook his head. "Thankfully not. I got a couple of new friends with me too. I managed to catch a Spearow and a Pidgey." Delia nodded, proud of her son's accomplishments. "I'm very proud of you Ash. It took your father a full four days to get to Viridian. Then again he always had trouble with direction…" Delia murmured, wincing slightly at the memories of the man that had left them. Ash's expression hardened, remembering how sad his mother had been when Ash's father left them. "Mom, I'll find him, and I'll bring him back, I promise." Ash said meekly, making her smile at him.

"Well anyway let's not dwell on that now. I have to go but promise to call as often as you can?" She asked, looking at him sternly. Ash nodded and swore he would. His mother smiled in satisfaction before waving goodbye and ending the call. Ash just stared at the videophone sadly for. Little bit before shaking his head. He then called the lab to talk to Professor Oak. The old man picked up soon enough, though he used the wrong camera. "Err, Professor? You have the wrong camera turned on." Ash said. "Oh my! How silly of me!" Oak said before turning on the correct camera, now facing Ash. "Ash my boy! It's great to hear from you! I see that you have caught some new Pokémon! Thank you, you see my grandson bet that you wouldn't have a single capture before reaching Viridian. You just won me one million pokédollars." The man said, dancing happily. Ash sweat-dropped at the wise Professor's actions.

"I don't get why he hates me so much. I've never done anything wrong when it comes to him yet he seems to hate my guts." Ash said, eyes fixated on the floor and trying his best not to show how sad he was by his "rival" and his actions. He heard Oak sigh and looked up to see the old man shake his head. "Gary is just jealous for the most part. It doesn't help that he- You know what I just remembered I had to go do something." Oak said, laughing nervously hoping Ash wouldn't question him. He didn't. Ash just raised a brow and shrugged, figuring he'd find out what the Professor was talking about later.

As the phone shut of Ash heard a chime come from the intercoms. "Paging Ash Ketchum, your Pokémon have been checked out and are waiting for you at the front desk." The familiar voice of Nurse Joy rang through the center. Ash stood form the small chair and walked back over to the front desk, where Nurse Joy was waiting for him with a smile on her face. "Your Pokémon are in perfect condition. They were just slightly tired, but it was nothing I couldn't fix." She said. "Thank you very much." Ash said, nodding politely before taking his pokéballs and Pikachu from the tray she had presented. Pikachu was fast asleep as he had been tuckered out completely.

Right as he was about to go to his room and retire for the night a siren was heard through the intercoms, however this time it was Officer Jenny's voice he heard. "Attention all Trainers, we have sight of an unidentified aircraft above the Pokémon center we believe may belong to Team Rocket, beware as they may try to steal your Pokémon" Jenny said and as soon as she finished her statement the glass roof of the Pokémon center shattered as two pokéballs smashed through it and opened to reveal an Ekans and a Koffing.

"Prepare for trouble!" A raspy, feminine voice sounded from above as a female with long, sharp, crimson hair have into view. "And make it double!" A smooth male voice said as a man with blue, medium hair also came into view. "To protect the world from devastation!" The woman once again said, turning around to face Ash and the other trainers and smirking evilly. "To unite all peoples within our nation!" The man replied, also turning to face the small crowd. "To denounce the evils of truth and love!" The woman spoke once more, this time making a grand gesture to support her statement. "To extend our reach to the stars above!" The man said, mirroring his partner's gesture. "Jessie!" The woman said, motioning to herself. "James!" The man did the same. "Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!" The woman cried out, her voice harsher than before and slightly painful to listen to. "Surrender now or prepare to fight!" The man sounded much smugger now. "Meowth! That's Right!" A third voice chimed in as a bipedal cat jumped down from the aircraft above, a rope dropping behind him. "A talking Meowth?" Many trainers could be heard talking about the weird Meowth in front of them but Ash just woke Pikachu up, warning the mouse about the criminals in front of them.

As he released Spearow and Pidgey from their pokéballs and ordered the two to attack Ekans and Koffing with their respective flying moves. Before the two Rocket members could realize what was happening their Pokémon came flying at them, landing at their feet. "Hey! What's the big idea!?" Jesse exclaimed, looking outraged. "You guys are terrible criminals." Ash said, shaking his head, which only further aggravated the two. "Oh yeah? How's that you twerp?" Jesse asked, looking like she wanted to wallop Ash. "Not only were your Pokémon knocked out easily, you also revealed your identities and what's worse you did it through a motto, during which anybody could have interrupted you by attacking, thus ruining your raid. I mean seriously, you two are a special kind of stupid." Ash said, making the two cry out indignantly.

"I'll show you stupid! Ekans use Acid!" "Koffing Poison Gas!" The two cried out as their Pokémon went on the offensive. "Pikachu, hit the with a Thunder Shock!" Ash commanded. The small mouse leapt up and did as asked, delivering a shock to both Pokémon, who were flung backwards into their Trainers, who feel down due to it. Sadly, Ekans had already launched the Acid, which was quickly heading towards an orange haired girl who had entered the center just second before the attack. She shrieked as she saw the incoming attack, frozen in fear. Ash saw this and rushed over to her, tackling her to the floor to avoid the attack. Sadly, her bike wasn't anywhere near as lucky as the Acid corroded it.

Ash turned to glare at the criminals, who were now struggling to get up. "Pikachu full force Thunder Shock!" Pikachu nodded, unleashing all his energy, which was enough to strengthen the attack, thereby changing it to a Thunderbolt. Ash smiled at this, happy that his Pokémon learned a new move so quickly. The attack connected, shocking the group. Unfortunately, it mad Koffing spew out gasses, which ignited and exploded, sending the group flying off. Officer Jenny, seeing them fly out of the roof then burst through the doors, only to see minimal damage to the center and everybody ok.

"Good job Pikachu!" Ash said standing up so he could catch Pikachu, who was now running towards him. As the small mouse leapt into his arms Ash hugged him tightly and spun him around, happy that he had won his first battle, against Team Rocket no less. Though those guys did seem incompetent to him. "Hey." Ash heard and turned to see the orange haired girl stand up and dust herself off. "Thank you, if that attack hit me I would have at the very least been heavily damaged. You saved me." She said, her eyes shining with gratitude and a few tears Ash suspected were caused by the fear. "It really was no trouble, I'm just glad I got to you on time. I'm Ash." He said, extending a hand to the girl who took it. "Misty." She introduced herself before turning to her bike, which was rendered useless by the Acid attack.

"Oh god, what am I supposed to do now? That bike was supposed to help me get through Viridian forest as quickly as possible." She mumbled, looking distressed for some reason, though Ash didn't know what the big deal was about the forest. "Young man." Jenny said as she walked up to him. "I heard what you did. Thank you for helping here. Most of the other trainers didn't have their Pokémon at the time and I fear what could have happened if you weren't here to prevent it." The officer said, making Ash squirm from the awkwardness. He raised his hands in a placating motion. "It was nothing, really! You don't need to thank me!"

"Nonsense! You truly helped out in this situation, and though we didn't catch the thieves I doubt they'd show their faces here again." Nurse Joy said as she joined the conversation. He just sighed and decided to nod along to the praise, hoping to get out of the situation as fast as he could. He did eventually manage to weasel himself away and towards his room. It was for the best anyway since he hated getting that much attention. He sent out Pidgey and Spearow, letting them relax and sleep outside of their pokéballs. Before going to sleep himself, he took out a couple of brushes and decided to bond a bit with his Pokémon by brushing their fur/feathers. All of them seemed to enjoy it a lot cooing and chirping happily. Spearow especially seemed to enjoy the brushing, though the small bird would never admit it. "Ok guys, during the next week we'll be training you to prepare for the gym before heading towards the forest. We need to cover some of your weaknesses as well as increasing your overall stats." Ash said, gaining the attention of all three Pokémon.

"We'll start by teaching you guys steel moves. Iron tail for Pikachu and Steel Wing for Pidgey and Spearow. This will help with Ice, rock and Fairy type Pokémon. The advantage to Rock Pokémon will be especially handy since the first gym we will be facing is the rock type gym. In addition, I want everybody to work on their speed both on the ground and in the air. To do that we will first start with increasing your endurance, followed by flying or running around with weights to make you stronger." All the Pokémon nodded along as that seemed like a good plan. And with that out of the way Ash decided to finally get some sleep.

 **-1 week later-**

Ash sighed and stretched out, finally finished with his training week and ready to take on the forest. During the week, all his Pokémon had managed to learn their respective steel type moves as well as Agility. Additionally, all of them had gotten exponentially faster, even without the help of the speed boosting move. The two bird Pokémon had become larger and leaner while Pikachu lost nearly all the extra weight it had and was now faster than ever.

He felt as though they were more than prepared to face the challenges ahead and thus headed off, stopping on his way out to deliver his room key to Nurse Joy. "Oh, Ash! I see you've decided to head off." The nurse said, taking the key from him. "Yes, I think about time to go." Ash said, smiling at the Nurse whom he'd talked to plenty of times since arriving at the Pokémon center. "Very well then. I want to give you this as thanks for saving the center though." She said and handed Ash an Incubator and inside was a small pink egg, a Pokémon egg. Ash gasped. "Nurse Joy, I can't possibly accept this." He said, staring at the Pokémon egg with wonder. "You can and you will. You saved not only yourself when you did that. There were sick and injured Pokémon here. If Team Rocket had taken them they could have died. You deserve this, I insist." She said, pushing the incubator towards him.

Ash sigh and took the incubator from her, knowing there was little he could do in the way of convincing her that he didn't deserve it. "Thank you Nurse Joy. What will it hatch into? When is it due?" Ash asked, wanting to know everything about the egg so he could take care of it properly. "It's not due until six or seven months so you it'll be a while before it hatches. It's a Happiny egg, a Pokémon you don't see much outside Pokémon centers. It's a great healer, but it's also a good battler so I thought it would make sense." She explained making Ash nod along in interest. Blissey was an amazing and tough Pokémon and he was happy to have one of its pre-evolutions.

"Now, you better run along Ash." Nurse Joy said and waved goodbye as he walked off. After stocking up on supplies he headed off towards the forest. Just as he was about to enter the dense forest a voice called out behind him. It was Misty who was running towards him. "I want to come with you. Maybe even farther than just Viridian Forest." She said, almost pleadingly. Ash shrugged as there was no reason for her not to come with him and it'd be fun to travel with somebody, not to mention great for training. "Sure, I'd like that." He said which made her smile brightly and cheer. "You see, I'm deathly afraid of bug-type Pokémon so I wanted to get through Viridian as fast as possible. Unfortunately, since my bike is destroyed I'll have to travel on foot, so traveling with somebody is the best bet."

"That makes sense, but you'll have to get over that fear of yours, since bug types are quite common. I can help with that." Ash said, pulling the girl along into the forest as she stammered out a "W-what?"

"It's alright Misty, it won't be anything too serious." Ash said. Eventually, after a little searching Ash found what he was looking for, a Caterpie. He decided to just toss a Pokeball at it, a strategy that worked out for him since the Caterpie was caught easily.

He scanned the pokeball for information, not wanting to frighten Misty by sending the bug Pokémon out close to her. " **Caterpie, the Worm Pokémon, for protection, it releases a horrible stench from the antennae on its head to drive away enemies.**

 **This Caterpie is Male and has the ability Run Away. Its known moves are: Tackle, String Shot and Bug Bite."** "He knows a good deal of moves considering he's just a Caterpie right now. When he evolves into Butterfree I'll make sure to teach him lots of moves, since Butterfree has a large and diverse moveset." Ash said, mostly to himself though Misty did pay attention, both creeped out by the bug and impressed with Ash's knowledge about Pokémon. Realistically Misty knew she had to get over her fear of Bug Pokémon, since she was going to be a Gym leader in the future and thus needed to be able to fight all kinds of Pokémon with a level head.

And really, the Butterfree line was one of the best ways to start warming up to bug type Pokémon since they were some of the prettier, more docile members of their type. Misty would by no means have an easy time with it but she had to start somewhere, so she would. Ash's thoughts went along that way too sans the Gym Leader part, though he would come to learn of that later.

After capturing Caterpie Misty and Ash walked through the forest with few interruptions, the main one being a samurai-like trainer who had challenged Ash and during the battle Ash's Caterpie evolved, learning Harden and Iron Defense in the process. After the battle Ash and Misty continued through the forest before finally reaching Pewter city a couple of hours later. They made their way down the cliff only to be stopped by a man offering them rocks. The two politely declined, after which the man commented on how if they were in Pewter to face Brock it would be pointless, and that they might as well search for another gym. Ash, not enjoying this stranger insulting his Pokémon, stormed away with Misty not far behind him, leaving the rude man behind. Finally, they reached the Pokémon center where they could relax from the long walk. After dropping off Metapod and Spearow, whom he had also used in the battle against the Samurai, he decided to talk to Misty a bit.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello dear Readers! I'm really happy about all of the support and reviews. To answer some of your questions, yes Ash will catch Legendaries, which ones they will be is however not something I'll reveal just yet. Yes, he will get a Sylveon, amongst other Eeveelutions, though not all of them.**

 **Also, yes he will get Rock-type Pokemon, I'm actually planning on having him catch at least one of every type of Pokemon. And yes, Ash will eventually utilize Aura, though that's for much later in the story. Anyway, thank you all for reading, hope you guys like this chapter!**

* * *

During their two week long stay in Pewter Ash and Misty did a lot, both in terms of training and bonding as friends. Misty had come a long way in terms of her bug phobia. She was quite comfortable around Metapod, now Butterfree, and could touch the butterfly Pokémon, including petting it on occasion.

During the two weeks, Ash had his Pokémon work on their speed, attack, and defense, having them spar against Misty's Pokémon, which were Staryu and Starmie. During a particularly heated spar against Staryu, Metapod evolved into Butterfree, learning Confusion and Gust. Ever since then Ash had Butterfree working on Powder and Spore moves as he knew Butterfree was a very utility based Pokémon. Now capable of flight, the butterfly Pokémon fluttered about happily, finally having achieved its dream of flight. Though, Ash did have the Butterfly train in walking and running on the ground, in case something happened to make him incapable of flight. This was also what he did with his two bird Pokémon.

Spearow and Pidgey were becoming quite fast on the ground, though they excelled in the air. Both birds were now amazing flyers, capable of making sharp, calculated movements in the air with next to no effort. Ash planned on having them work on the move Aerial Ace soon. In addition to flying and running practice Ash had the two bird Pokémon training against their electric weakness. Now they were both capable of taking Pikachu's Thunderbolt without fainting, and they were getting better against electricity by the day. Sure, they would never be strong against it but it was good to build up as much resistance as possible. Ash also showed them how to divert electricity using Steel Wing to send the electricity into the ground or in another direction. This way Pikachu's attacks only did minimal damage.

Speaking of Pikachu, the small mouse was proving himself to be quite the powerhouse. The yellow rodent had already learned Brick Break and perfected Iron Tail, now being able to deploy the move in just a second, unlike previously where it took 4 to five seconds. The mouse was a speed demon and his movements were hard to trace when he used Agility, thus he became the target when Ash trained his other Pokémon inaccuracy. He also had Pikachu working on the strength of his electricity and electric attacks. The small mouse was making good progress on powering up his electrical attacks and could deploy them much easier.

Ash had also explored the city thoroughly, both to sightsee and to shop for supplies. He found a nifty little shop full of things that were useful for the care of Pokémon. He got items such as shampoos and lotions that would give his Pokémon shiny, healthy coats. He enjoyed taking care of his Pokémon, often cleaning and brushing them. His Pokémon seemed to enjoy it too, as Ash did his best to keep them as healthy as possible. Of course, Ash was first and foremost a trainer but he was also versed in other areas of Pokémon care, such as raising, breeding, healing, and researching, among others. He had taken to these subjects so he could do as well as possible on his journey.

This included making his own special Pokémon food, special for each type and filled with vitamins and nutrients. Ash quite enjoyed cooking as he found it relaxing. He also made food for Misty's Pokémon too, and both starfish Pokémon seemed to enjoy it.

He and Misty spent a lot of time talking and interacting with each other, the girl agreeing to go with Ash on his journey while hoping to make progress in her own journey to becoming a Water Pokémon master. She and Ash spent lots of time talking about Water Pokémon and different strategies, and Ash could clearly see it was a subject Misty shined in. When Ash got his own Water Pokémon he'd make sure to have Misty help him with the care and training.

Now he was finally standing in front of Pewter Gym, ready to face the Gym Leader, ready to take the first step towards the League. He entered the Gym, Misty right behind him. "Who goes there!?" A voice boomed through the gym. The lights turned on and revealed the Gym Leader, Brock. "My name is Ash Ketchum, and I'd like to challenge you to a Gym battle," Ash called out. "Very well. I am Brock, the Pewter City Gym Leader. This will be a 2 on 2 gym battle where only you can switch. Forrest!" Brock called out after explaining the rules, causing a smaller boy to run over to the referee spot and pick up the flags.

"Go, Geodude!" Brock called out, sending his Geodude out. Ash considered this for a moment before calling out Pidgey. Brock raised his eyebrow. Great, another noob. "Geodude, Rock Throw." Geodude cried out, starting to chuck rocks at the Pidgey. "Dodge! Use Agility to close the gap!" Ash ordered. Pidgey chirped and started dodging getting faster and faster going into Agility. When he was close, enough Ash proceeded to call out "Now, use Steel Wing!" Pidgey nodded and coated her wings with the Steel Energy before hitting Geodude full force, slamming him into ground. Brock gasped in shock and stared at his Geodude, which la there, fainted.

"I see. So, I underestimated you. That won't happen again. Go, Onix!" Brock called out and sent out his Onix, a giant, rocky snake Pokémon who roared fiercely. "She chirped and prepared to fight. "Onix, use Bind." Onix obeyed and charged at Pidgey, catching her off guard and binding her. Ash growled and saw her getting squeezed while she tried to escape, hitting Onix with Steel Wings to no avail. "Stop! I surrender Pidgey." Ash called out, not wanting to see his Pokémon get hurt. Brock nodded and ordered Onix to let Pidgey go. "A wise choice, doing that to avoid further damage to your Pokémon. It is admirable." Brock said. Ash thanked him before looking toward Pikachu and nodding, the small mouse catching his drift and leaping ahead, standing ready on all fours in front of Onix.

Brock stared at the small mouse, wondering what it could do, regardless he wouldn't pull any punches "Onix, Bind!" He ordered. Onix nodded and charged the mouse but just as he was about to make contact with Pikachu the mouse jumped up faster than both Brock and Onix had expected. "Now, Agility into Iron Tail!" Ash ordered. Pikachu began its descend, Agility speeding it up exponentially. He coated his tail with Iron Tail and slammed it into Onix's tail that still rested there after the failed Bind. The large snake cried out in pain but didn't faint. "Onix use Slam!" Brock called out, not wanting this battle to go as miserably as the one Geodude had. Onix swung his tail at the mouse, hitting it and sending the small mouse back quite a bit.

Pikachu was flung back but managed to bad his paws into the ground, regaining his footing. Brock smiled as he saw how is Pokémon was doing. Suddenly Onix gave a cry as electricity started coursing through its body. 'Static' Brock though, gasping in Shock. "Now Pikachu! Agility into Brick Tail!" Ash called out and Pikachu responded by charging at Onix. 'Brick Tail?' Brock though with confusion. "Dodge!" Brock called out, knowing whatever the move was it wouldn't be good for his Onix. However due to the paralysis Onix struggled to move and Pikachu, powered by the Agility quickly closed the gap. However, instead of going for the tail this time it leapt up so he was level with Onix's head. "No! Onix!" Brock cried out, knowing that was Onix's weak spot.

Pikachu grinned evilly as it slammed its Iron Tail into Onix's head before also using Brick Break on Onix as well. The combined powers of the two super effective moves hitting Onix, sending the rock-snake crashing into the ground, causing a cloud of dust to rise. Everybody waited with baited breath for the dust to settle. As the large dust cloud slowly dissipated Onix was left laying there, fainted on the ground. "Yes!" Ash cheered as Pikachu ran up to him and into his arms. "We won our first gym battle!" Ash cheered, petting Pikachu happily. Brock on the other had sighed and returned Onix before looking at his challenger, smiling as he saw the boy celebrating his victory with his Pokémon.

"Congratulations!" Brock said, walking up to Ash. He handed him a small badge, which Ash happily accepted. "This Boulder Badge is proof of your victory here in the Pewter City Gym." Brock said, smiling as the boy placed the badge in a small case. Misty ran up to Ash after seeing him win and congratulated him on his victory. "I'm going to go heal up my Pokémon. You should come with me." Brock said before exiting the gym, heading to the Pokémon center with the two trainers in tow. As they reached the center Brock gained love hearts in his eyes as he charged at Nurse joy, who groaned slightly as she saw Brock once again at her center. "Oh Nurse Joy! Your beauty is matched only by your talent as a healer!" Brock said, standing on his knee, making a grand gesture to the woman that had both Misty and Ash sweat-dropping.

"That's nice." Nurse Joy said, obviously uncomfortable. She took his pokéballs and Ash's and just headed off, trying to get away as quickly as possible. As she was busy healing Ash and Brock talked about a lot of things, such as breeding and cooking, seeing as they had a couple of common interests. When Nurse Joy was finally done with Ash's Pokémon she handed them to him before walking off to continue her work on Brock's. As Ash accepted his Pokémon he released Pidgey, who chirped and hopped up to him, nuzzling him affectionately as it had heard from Pikachu that they won the Gym battle.

"Good job girl!" Ash said, petting his Pidgey affectionately. "Brock!" A voice cried out and the group saw a man running up to them. "There's trouble in the Fossil Reservation area! Team Rocket is attacking!" The man said causing Ash to growl. Brock gasped and ran off, presumably toward the Area. Ash decided to run after him with Misty also trying to catch up. Eventually, they reached a large, white building that had smoke coming out of it. As the two entered they saw Fossil Pokémon in nets, struggling to escape and Jesse and James trying to round them up.

"Dammit, my Pokémon are still at the center," Brock said, realizing he had no way of stopping the criminals.

Ash glared at the Rocket duo and sent out his Pokémon, who recognized the two criminals, except for Butterfree of course but the butterfly Pokémon noticed the tone in the room and glared at them. "Butterfree! Confusion at Ekans and Koffing! Spearow, Steel Wing on Meowth! Pidgey use your new move! Wing Attack to release the Pokémon from the nets! Pikachu, Thunderbolt on Jesse and James!" Ash ordered him Pokémon who rushed to follow his orders. Butterfree quickly picked up Team Rocket's Pokémon with its psychic energy and slammed them around the building, effectively knocking them out before sending them flying at their owners. As that happened Pidgey flew around the room, cutting nets left and right, releasing the trapped Fossil Pokémon, which did give Ash slight pause as he never expected to see Fossil Pokémon during his adventure.

Spearow flew towards Meowth and slammed it with a Steel Wing, sending the weak cat flying back at Jesse and James as well, all the while curing Spearow out. Finally, Pikachu did his part and launched a Thunderbolt at Jesse and James, along with their Pokémon, shocking the duo and sending them blasting off once more until all you could see of them was a small twinkle as they disappeared into the horizon.

Ash ran further into the room and looked around to see if any Pokémon were wounded during Team Rocket's attack. Most of them seemed fine, with barely a couple of scratches on their bodies. However, one of the Pokémon Ash noticed was a small bipedal blue and gray Pokémon with a dome-like spiked head. Ash walked up to the Pokémon which stepped back warily and stared as he took a Super-Potion out of his bag and turned to the Pokémon. "Hey it's okay, I just want to patch you up a bit." Ash said and got a little closer. The Pokémon stared at him as Ash sprayed the potion on the Pokémon's damaged leg, which made the Pokémon cringe before it sighed contently. Ash smiled at the Pokémon and wrapped a bandage around it's leg before standing up and looking around, but all the other Pokémon were being tended t by scientists so Ash decided to leave things up to them as he walked back over to Brock.

"I can't thank you enough Ash. I can't believe I was stupid enough to not bring my Pokémon with me. If it wasn't for you all the fossil Pokémon would have fallen into the wrong hands. I'm sure everyone here feels the same as well." Brock said, feeling immense gratitude for Ash. The boy had proven himself to be a competent battler and a good person and it just made Brock think. "Let me escort you back to the center, it's the least I could do," Brock said. Ash smiled at him and nodded, appreciating that he wasn't being doted on and thanked profusely like he had in the Viridian Pokémon center.

As they were about to leave the Fossil Reservation area both Brock and Ash were stopped as the Pokémon Ash healed earlier charged up to them, bumping Ash with his dome head. Ash stared at the Pokémon, confused as it kept bumping at him. "It seems Cranidos has taken a liking to you." A raspy male's voice sounded. They turned and saw a tall, scraggly man walking out of the Reservation area. "Professor Pele! I didn't know you were back from your trip to Cinnabar Island." Brock said, walking up to the man, seeming to be a little star-struck. The man chuckled and shook his head.

"I came back yesterday. As it stands both Armaldo and Bastiodon were with Nurse Joy, meaning I couldn't help here as those crooks attacked. Speaking of which-" He began, turning to Ash. "-I am very grateful to you for what you've done here today. And it seems Cranidos is as well. She doesn't really trust people that often but she seems to have taken a very big liking to you." Pele said, smiling at the Rock type. She looked up at the Professor and pointed at Ash, giving off a couple of grunts. "So, you've decided on that huh?" Pele said, looking at Cranidos as she nodded, satisfied at having been understood. "Very well then. Young man-" Pele said, turning to Ash once more. "It seems Cranidos has decided to come with you." Pele said, making Ash gasp in shock.

A normal Pokémon he could understand, but this was a Fossil Pokémon, they were some of the rarest Pokémon, and most of them were kept in research facilities like this one and in bio-domes while the scientists worked on bringing their species back from extinction. Fossil Pokémon were mostly only given to important people and Gym Leader and such, though some of them had been restored to a good population size, such as Anorith which were a little more likely to be seen with normal trainers. The fact that this Professor wanted to entrust such a rare fossil Pokémon to him was astounding. Cranidos did seem to like him a lot though, so Ash wanted to fulfill her wishes. "Are you sure?" Ash asked the Head Butt Pokémon. She nodded vigorously and butted him with her head. "She's sure," Pele said, smiling at the Rock Pokémon.

"Well then, I guess it's decided," Brock said, staring at the scene with a hint of jealousy, though Ash truly did deserve it. This only made Brock want to go with the boy more, however, he was stuck in Pewter because of his deadbeat dad leaving them. Somebody had to take care of his siblings. Sadly, shortly after his father left his mother decided to go off to wherever the hell she went. Honestly brock didn't know anymore, and lately, he questioned if he even cared.

Ash looked at the gym leader as he suddenly became reserved and somber, the Professor seemed to notice too and shifted a bit. Ash shook it off and turned to Cranidos, kneeling and petting her softly. He took out a pokéball and tapped her head, watching as she let herself be sucked in by the beam and captured. He proceeded to take out his Pokédex and scan the newest addition to the team.

 **"Cranidos, the Head Butt Pokémon, its hard skull is its distinguishing feature. It snapped trees by head-butting them, and then it fed on their ripe berries. Its cranium is hard as steel.**

 **This Cranidos is Female and has the ability Sheer Force. Its known moves are: Headbutt, Focus Energy, Iron Head, Stealth Rock, Crunch and Stone Edge."** Ash gasped, seeing Cranidos' many diverse moves. The little dinosaur would be exceptionally valuable, and after checking her potential moves with his Pokédex Ash almost fainted from excitement as it was one of the most diverse Ash had seen for a while. It ranged from fire to electric to fighting to dragon to poison to dark and even psychic. That, coupled with Cranidos' ability Sheer Force would be a force to be reckoned with. Especially since Cranidos was already so strong. "Take care of her, alright?" Pele asked, smiling sadly at the pokéball in his hand. He thought of all the fossil Pokémon as his children and Cranidos was no exception. Unlike many of her species she was loving and affectionate, and while she was a bit distrustful she was also loyal to a fault and loved to battle. He would miss her, but he knew it was time to let her go.

"I swear I will," Ash said, and he meant it. He'd never treat one of his Pokémon poorly. He thanked the professor and excused himself, walking back to the Pokémon center. Brock caught up with him after a short while which wasn't shocking as he still had to get his Pokémon. As they entered the Pokémon center Ash headed to Misty to explain the situation to her while Brock headed off to get his Pokémon. When he got back the three got to talking and eventually, the topic of dreams was brought up. "To tell you the truth I don't want to be a Gym Leader. I'm not even that into battling. My dream is to be a professional Pokémon Breeder, to travel the world and to learn how to take care of all kinds of Pokémon." Brock admitted, looking down sadly as he knew that he would never get to fulfill his dream.

"Then, why don't you?" Ash questioned sadly, looking at Brock who seemed to be upset for somebody discussing his dream. Brock shook his head sadly. "I can't. I have to stay here and take care of my siblings. I can't leave them alone. It's happened to them too many times for another person to do it as well. I'm all they have left…" Brock murmured the last part, but both Misty and Ash heard him clearly, both of them have tears in their eyes. "That's not necessarily true." Brock gasped and turned, only to be met with the sight of his father, or, to Misty and Ash the man they met when they first came to Pewter. Ash and Misty stared at the man and then at Brock, who had fist fists clenched at his sides, shaking.

"You." Brock growled out, glaring at the man fiercely. "You dare show your face around here!? After what you did!? What right do you have!?" Brock yelled at the man and slammed his fist on a table, drawing the attention of everyone in the Pokémon center. "Brock…" The man said slowly. "NO! You don't get to explain yourself! You don't get to come back and act like everything is fine!" Brock said, getting angrier and angrier by the minute. "Brock! I …" The man once again attempted to speak, only to be punched by Brock. "You don't get to talk to me! You left us! We needed you and you left us! All of us! Your children! Why did you leave us…" Brock's voice broke, tears falling down as his lips trembled. Ash and Misty stared in weird fascination at the scene, though it saddened them both and watching it like this made them feel like voyeurs.

"I'm here to make this right… I realize what I did was wrong, it was selfish and awful. A couple of months back I came back to Pewter but I… I couldn't bring myself to come back. The guilt, the shame of what I had done… it kept me from coming back. I'm so sorry Brock… You're so strong to be able to raise your siblings by yourself after what happened…" The man was openly crying now, and so was Brock. Ash and Misty looked at each other before nodding and walking off, not wanting to intrude on this scene any further.

They both decided to head off towards Mt. Moon since it was high time they left Pewter city. After restocking on supplies and preparing for the journey they headed off, leaving Pewter behind. On the path to Mt. Moon however they heard Brock calling out behind them. "Hey! Ash, Misty!" Brock called, running towards them. As he stopped in front of them he took a second to catch his breath. "Thank Arceus I caught up to you guys in time." He said after he finally got enough oxygen in his system to speak. "Brock? Did you come here to say goodbye or something?" Misty asked, confused as to why a Gym Leader would go so out of his way to say goodbye to a challenger. "No… I... I actually wanted to know if I could come with you guys." Brock said, making both of them raise their eyebrows.

"I thought you said you couldn't leave…" Ash said though he had nothing against Brock tagging along for the journey. "My father said he'd take over the gym and after telling him how to take care of my siblings I think he's competent enough to do so. Professor Pele agreed to watch over them as well and inform me should my father not be fit to take care of them or the gym. He seemed genuine when he said he wanted to make things up to us, and this is a start." Brock said though he looked slightly unsure. Ash just shrugged and smiled at Brock. "Of course you can come along with us." He said, turning and raising a questioning eyebrow at Misty, who nodded back. "I think it'll be fun as well," Misty said, smiling at the former Gym Leader.

"Let's go then!" Brock said enthusiastically and turned towards Mt. Moon in the distance.

 **-The next day, Mt. Moon entrance-**

"Well, here we are." Ash muttered, looking at the entrance of the mountain up ahead. As he and the others were about to enter the cave loud chattering came from inside. Suddenly, hundreds of Zubats flew out of the cave, swarming the group. Misty gave a startled cry as one particular bat knocked her down. "That's it!" Ash yelled out, finally snapping. "Pikachu, mass Thunderbolt!" Ash yelled out. Pikachu nodded and jumped from Ash's shoulder, releasing the thunderbolt from its cheeks and shocking the group of bats and causing them to disperse and fly back to the cave. "That was close… I wonder what made the Zubat go crazy like that…" Ash muttered, staring intently at the cave. Ash then turned to check on the others, only to chuckle as he saw Brock pick up a pokéball.

After helping Misty up the group headed into the cave, only to gasp as they saw many weakened Pokémon, including a Sandshrew who looked like it was about to die of dehydration. Ash gasped as he saw that and ran over to the shrew, picking it up and cradling it in his arms. "Misty, send out Staryu and have it made a puddle, this one need some water," Ash said. Misty nodded and sent out her Pokémon. "Use Water Gun Staryu!" Misty said, pointing at a little hole in the path. Staryu nodded and followed her orders, sending a blast of water and creating a puddle of clear water. Ash smiled and put Sandshrew down next to it watching as the small Pokémon drank his fill before jumping inside, splashing around a bit to rehydrate his skin as well.

"Sandshrew Sand!" Sandshrew cried out, jumping up and done happily before turning to glare at the torches put up everywhere along the cave, squawking angrily and making gestures at them. "The torches must be affecting the Pokémon in the cave, but who put them up?" Brock questioned making Ash hum as he was thinking along those lines as well. "Misty, have Staryu put them out as we go through the cave," Ash said and went deeper into Mt. Moon, determined to get to the bottom of this.

He didn't have to go that deep before seeing the root of the problem. Team Rocket. They were putting up lights all along the cave walls. Ash quickly ducked behind a rock and listed into them speaking. "How much longer do we have to wait?" Meowth said, looking irritated. Jesse growled at the cat and hit him upside the head. "I told you already! We have to lure out the Clefairy so we can steal the moon stone!" Jesse yelled, annoyed that she was stuck with morons. Suddenly all three turned to look at something Ash couldn't see. "That's one of them!" James cried out and all three started running after the Clefairy, chasing it around and trying to capture it. Just as Ash stood to interfere the Clefairy ran past him, cowering behind a rock.

"It's the twerp!" The group of crooks exclaimed as they saw him, glaring at him. "You won't ruin our plans again!" Jesse said, glaring at him as she sent out her Ekans, with James mirroring her and sending out his Koffing. Ash glared at the thieves and sent out Pidgey and Spearow. "Pidgey, Agility Wing on Ekans! Spearow, do the same to Koffing!" The two birds gave their respective cries and charged at the two Poison types. Spearow got there first and slammed the gas ball Pokémon with an agility powered steel wing. Koffing flew back from the force of the attack and slammed into the cave wall. However, as Pidgey was about to connect her attack on Ekans Meowth intercepted by tackling the bird, giving Ekans enough room to bind the small bird. Pidgey chirped and squawked angrily, trying to get out of Ekans' grasp. "Pidgey!" Ash yelled, scared for his Pokémon. Spearow turned to help Pidgey but Koffing chose that moment to charge the tiny bird, distracting it so he couldn't help his friend. Jesse and James meanwhile were smirking. 'What do I do…' Ash though, his brain going a mile a minute trying to come up with a strategy to help Pidgey out of the dangerous situation.

As he was about to release Cranidos and Butterfree to help Pidgey gave a loud cry and suddenly the whole cave illuminated as Pidgey started to glow, the light blinding Ekans which caused the snake to let Pidgey go. As the tiny bird fluttered upwards it's silhouette started to grow and change, signifying evolution. With a burst Pidgeotto emerged and gave a sharp cry, glaring at Ekans who was coiled up below. "You evolved! Good job Pidgeotto!" Ash said before he proceeded to scan Pidgeotto with his Pokédex.

 **"Pidgeotto, the Bird Pokémon, Pidgeotto, an evolved form of Pidgey. It is armed with sharp claws and dives from the sky to capture its prey. Unlike the gentler Pidgey, Pidgeotto can be dangerous. Approach with extreme caution.**

 **This Pidgeotto is Female and has the ability Keen Eye. Its known moves are: Gust, Sand Attack, Tackle, Quick Attack and Double Team, Agility, Steel Wing, Twister, Wing Attack, Aerial Ace and Roost"** So, Pidgeotto had learned two moves upon evolution. "Pidgeotto use Roost! Then hit them with an Aerial Ace!" Ash called out. He wanted Pidgeotto to heal herself before attacking since the Bind had done a good chunk of damage. Pidgeotto nodded and closed her eyes before suddenly there was a glow around Pidgeotto and you could see the dirt and scratches on her disappear over time. As the glow faded off Pidgeotto's eyes shot open it gave an angry caw and nosedived towards Ekans, streaks of white light bursting from her body.

Meowth tried to intercept again but she was too fast this time and managed to hit Ekans, her newly acquired power colliding with the snake with a greater force than anybody had previously seen the bird Pokémon use. Ekans was blown back, landing loudly on the ground which caused dust to rise. There was no question of whether it had fainted or not. Ash cheered and looked back towards Spearow, who was standing victoriously on top of Koffing, glaring down at the offending Pokémon. "Good job guys! Now, send those crooks flying!" Ash ordered, pointing at Team Rocket who was in the process of returning their Pokémon. "Say what now?" James muttered, staring at Ash in slight fear. "Spearow!" "Pidgeo!" The two birds cried and charged at Team Rocket with their Agility Wing combos, Pidgeotto adding the new Aerial Ace power into the mix. The attacks collided and of course Team Rocket was sent flying off, creating a hole in the cave ceiling, revealing that they had been relatively near the surface.

"Finally…" Ash muttered, glaring at the hole which Team Rocket had been blown out of. "Ash!" Brock called out as he and Misty ran up to him. "What happened here?" He questioned, looking around at the battle-torn cave. "Team Rocket happened. Did you guys manage to take down the lights?" Ash asked Brock and Misty, who was just now coming over to them along with Staryu and Sandshrew, the former looking a tad tuckered out.

"Yeah, they should all be out now." Misty said, stretching a bit before returning Staryu. "I hope the Pokémon here are going to be ok now…" Ash muttered, staring sadly at Sandshrew, who thankfully seemed to be much healthier now. "Shrew, Shrew!" Sandshrew chirped happily, hopping around. "Pika!" Pikachu cried and jumped down to play with Sandshrew. Ash smiled down at the two rodent-like Pokémon playing. "Hey Sandshrew!" Ash called out in order to gain Sandshrew's attention. Both Sandshrew and Pikachu stopped playing and chasing each other and turned to Ash, staring at him curiously. "Would you like to come along with us on our journey?" Ash asked, crouching down to be more level with the Pokémon. Sandshrew seemed to mull it over for a second, staring at Ash in a contemplating way before finally giving a happy cry and jumping at Ash, causing the boy to land on his butt with a thump. Ash laughed at Sandshrew's antics before taking a Pokeball out of his belt and tapping Sandshrew on the head lightly, the Pokémon getting sucked in immediately and getting caught with no struggle.

Sending Sandshrew out Ash took his Pokédex out of his pocket to scan it. **"Sandshrew, the Mouse Pokémon,** **Sandshrew's body is configured to absorb water without waste, enabling it to survive in an arid desert. This Pokémon curls up to protect itself from its enemies.**

 **This Sandshrew is Male and has the ability, Sand Rush. Its known moves are: Scratch, Defense Curl, Sand Attack, Rollout, Rapid Spin and Fury Cutter."** Ash smiled and pet Sandshrew, encouraging him and already devising a training regimen in his head. Although Sandshrew wouldn't be great for the Cerulean Gym he would be very useful when Ash got to Vermilion. In addition, Sandslash were strong Pokémon with great attacking capabilities and Ash had always wanted to raise one. "Well, I think it's about time we got out of this cave," Brock said, smiling at Ash who was happily talking with Sandshrew. Ash looked up at Ash and nodded.

They managed to traverse the cave easily enough with the help of Sandshrew, the only bump in the road being a group of Clefairy who wanted to lead them somewhere, that somewhere being the Moon Stone which had been rumored to be in Mt. Moon. The little group stayed to watch the moonlight ritual the Clefairy had, watching in amazement at the beautiful event. After the event ended everybody in the group got a piece of the Moon Stone from the Clefairy. After thanking them and giving their goodbyes the group proceeded through the cave, finally getting out just an hour later. The trio decided to set up camp for the night as Cerulean was still quite a ways away.

That night the gang finally go to see Ash in action as the boy decided to cook everybody a meal, one of his mother's famous recipes. The meal consisted of a nice creamy stew and some Oran Berry Pudding. He also tried out all his Pokémon food recipes on his own Pokémon, as well as Misty's and Brock's. Brock was naturally very excited by this, especially when his own Pokémon loved the food. Ash and Brock spent quite a bit of time discussing recipes and the like while Misty just stared at them with a small smile, getting used to this.

The night was spent relatively well as they all talked among themselves before deciding to tuck in for the night. After waking up and packing up their camp they proceeded to Cerulean, getting there at noon. Finally, they had reached Cerulean city.

-Two Weeks Later-

Ash and Brock stood in front of the Cerulean Gym, Ash finally deeming himself ready to face the Gym Leaders. He had spent two weeks training, just like he had done for the Pewter Gym, and like how he was planning to do for all the other gyms. The training had, of course, paid off in spades. His Pokémon were better than ever and even his newest additions to the team, in the form of Cranidos and Sandshrew were much stronger now that they had trained with the team. Pidgeotto and Spearow had grown the most during the two weeks since Ash had them working on getting stronger against their weaknesses by having Cranidos and Pikachu attack them.

Spearow, wanting to catch up to Pidgeotto who had already evolved but his all into training and it showed. The tiny bird pokemon was now even visibly stronger and he was also nearly out-speeding Pikachu, having already managed to out-speed Pidgeotto, something Spearow had been very proud of. In addition to working on his speed and power, Ash had Spearow work on the moves Aerial Ace and Roost, which Pidgeotto tutored him as well as the moves Double Team and Fury Attack. While Spearow had learned Aerial Ace and Fury Attack easily, as the small bird was talented when it came to attacking moves, he struggled a bit with the other two. Thankfully with some help from Ash and Pidgeotto Spearow had the moves down decently, though he wanted to become even better at utilizing them.

Pidgeotto had also gotten quite a bit stronger, having already gotten used to her new body and power she was now able to fly at high speeds gracefully through the air, her movements almost like a dance. Ash mostly had her working on her power, speed, and defenses since she already had quite a large move-pool. Although, Ash did have her working on Air Slash on the side she had yet to master the move, choosing instead to focus on completely mastering her new form so she could utilize her body to the best of her capabilities. Even Professor Oak had been impressed with her as she was a little bit over a foot larger than normal members of her species. Oak theorized it was due to her diet and training as well as general care, something that made Ash swell up with pride.

Like Pidgeotto Butterfree was also learning how to use his body as he had changed the most through his evolution. Although Butterfree had already been working on learning how to play his new form as a strength prior to Pidgeotto even evolving the butterfly Pokémon was around the same level of control since he had never flown or had any kind of wings prior to evolution. Still, he was making great progress and Ash already had him work on becoming a diverse battler since Butterfree had the ability to learn a diverse set of moves. Butterfree had already learned Poison Powder, Sleep Powder, and Stun Spore, as they came naturally to her. She also managed to learn Electroweb with the help of Pikachu and had surprisingly learned Bug Buzz in a battle against Spearow, which had caught the bird off-guard, giving Butterfree the win. Ash had been very happy with his progress and always made sure to pamper and show off the butterfly, though he did that with most of his Pokémon.

Especially Cranidos. The small dino would never admit it but she loved the attention, especially since Ash was extra doting on her. Although, just because he doted on her doesn't mean he let her slack off in training. Although she wouldn't participate in the Cerulean gym battle Ash had promised her a battle in the next gym, which inspired Cranidos to train even harder. She was slowly catching up to the rest of Ash's Pokémon in terms of Speed, although her attacking prowess was almost scary at times, already being superior to all of the others when it came to Attacking capabilities. That, coupled with her ability Sheer Force made her dangerous to even water Pokémon. She was also working on some new moves, having learned Rock-Polish and Iron tail during the two weeks of training. Ash now planned to work on adding some moves of different typings to her reservoir, already having explained to her the basics of Flamethrower, Thunderbolt and Dragon Pulse.

Pikachu had continued his speed training, the mouse dreaming of one day being the fastest Pokémon in the world. Seeing as that was Pikachu's dream Ash had Pikachu work on Electro ball and Wild Charge while also having him learn some defensive moves, like Magnet Rise and Double Team. There wasn't much to say on Pikachu's growth during the two weeks, as the small mouse was mostly just working on what he had previously trained in, which included shortening the launch time on his moves, which now also included his newest moves.

Sandshrew, on the other hand, had never worked this hard in his life and by the end of the two weeks, he had made amazing progress. The shrew Pokémon wanted to be as good as Pikachu, and as such had done his best to get as fast as possible, though he was also very physically strong and utilized that to his advantage. Sandshrew knew that he had a lacking move-pool so he and Ash were working on expanding his move set along with the other training. Ash had spent the most time working on Sandshrew, mostly leaving the others to do their training, except for the individual help they had needed. With most of Ash's attention and help centered on him, Sandshrew had managed to learn five new moves, which tied with Butterfree for most moves learned during the training, something that greatly helped in boosting Sandshrew's confidence. The moves were Magnitude, Rock Tomb, Dig, Stealth Rock, and Sandstorm. Sandshrew was especially excited about Sandstorm, because not only was it a good move to know but Sandshrew could finally utilize his Ability Sand Rush, which helped in catching up with Pikachu's speed.

And so, at the end of the two training weeks, here they were, about to head into the gym. Misty had said she had something very important to take care of so she couldn't come with them, and while Ash was slightly sad she couldn't see his battle but he understood. Stepping into the Gym Ash's eyes light up as he saw the many aquarium lining the walls, which were filled to the brim with all kinds of Water-type Pokémon. Not just from Kanto either, there were Pokémon from all over. Ash could see Tympole, Chinchou, Shellos, Remoraid, Feebas, Luvdisc, Finneon, Alomomola, Clauncher, and even some Mantyke and Bruxish. Of course, the Pokémon from other regions were far fewer than the Kanto Water-types, which were everywhere. Pokémon like Magikarp, Shellder, Seel, Tentacool, Poliwag, Goldeen, Seaking, Horsea, Krabby, Psyduck and even some Squirtle were seen in the aquariums. "So many of them…" Ash murmured, looking like a kid in a candy store. Brock chuckled and while this many water Pokémon unnerved him he was also impressed with the sheer diversity shown here.

Ash and Brock headed further into the Gym only to stumble across a group of girls in the hall. They were wearing bathing-suits and drying themselves off with towels. "Oh my God Daisy! That was like, such a great show!" The pink haired one said. "Like, totally! They were eating us up! The fans really loved it!" the blue-haired one said. "Well duh, we could like, totally come out in hazmat suits and they would still go nuts." The blond one said, she looked like the leader of the small group. "Erm, excuse me…" Ash said, causing them to turn to him. "I'm sorry, but like, fans can't be here." The blond one said, looking toward Ash and Brock with slight disgust, though mostly towards Brock, who was clearly ogling the girls. Ash glared at the older boy and hit him upside the head,

"Fans? I'm here for a Gym battle." Ash said, clearly confused about the situation. "Oh. I know what you want. Come." The blond said, heading off down the hall. They finally reached a battlefield on a pool where Daisy stood by the poolside and whistled. Ash just stared dumbly trying to figure out what the hell she was doing. Suddenly a Seel jumped out the water and started clapping and jumping around. Then he stuck out his tongue revealing a small blue teardrop. Daisy smiled and took it before heading towards Ash. "Here you go. This is what you wanted right?" Daisy said, handing Ash what he now realized was the badge. "I'm sorry, what?" Ash asked, looking at her in bewilderment. "You wanted a Gym badge so here you go. There's no point in a battle and you wanted to badge anyway so here you go." Daisy said, trying to hand him the badge. "STOP!" A voice rang through the pool, making everybody look up towards the bleachers where Misty was standing angrily. She jumped down and glared at the blond. "What do you think you're doing!?" Misty asked the blond, glaring at her.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the water Pokémon master. What happened sis? I thought you said you wouldn't come back until you become the strongest water type trainer in the world." The one with pink hair said mockingly. "Well, Lilly, I'm glad I came back here this early. What do you three think you're doing handing out badges to challengers without battling them?" Misty questioned her sisters, getting angrier and angrier by the minute. "Like, chill out sis. We've just been too busy with the shows to do the Gym battles. Plus, these three trainer from this nowhere place called Pallet Town totally destroyed us a couple of weeks ago. There's like, no point in battling if they're going to win anyway so we've like, just been focusing on the shows." The blue haired girl said, shrugging like she didn't care. Misty just glared at her darkly before turning to Ash, her expression softening a little. "If they won't battle you then I, Misty Waterflower, the fourth sensational sister and Cerulean city gym leader will battle you." Misty said, making Ash gasped. Why hadn't she told them she was a partial gym leader?

"Wrong. There's just three sensational sisters and one runt." Lilly said, scoffing at her little sister's antics. Though, she missed the look the two other sisters gave her. Lilly and Misty had always had the worst relationship out of the four sisters as they were the youngest of the four and always competed. Misty decided to ignore her and just headed towards the Gym leader's platform, staring at Ash expectantly. "Well? Are you going to fight or what?" She asked impatiently. Ash shook himself out of his stupor and nodded at her, heading towards the challenger's spot. A referee who had come in during the altercation stood at his stop and said. "This will be a three on three battle between the Gym Leader Misty and the Challenger. Only the challenger may switch Pokémon during the battle. Begin!" He yelled out, waving his flags.

"Misty calls Staryu!" Misty said, sending out her first Pokémon, a Pokémon Ash had battled against many times before. "To the battlefield Spearow!" Ash called out his own Pokémon, who came out with a loud cry, glaring down at his opponent. "Staryu, use Water Gun!" Misty ordered. Staryu gave a small huff and started shooting blasts of water at Spearow. Spearow easily dodged, flying around the battlefield with sharp, precise movements. "Spearow, Use Steel Ace! Boost it with Agility!" Ash ordered, prompting Spearow to jump into action, first coating his wings in the Steel energy and then flying at Staryu, the streaks of white light and the faint pink glow of the Agility dancing behind his as Spearow flew a Staryu like an arrow. "Staryu, use Swift!" Misty ordered, knowing how strong Spearow was from personal experience. Staryu nodded and proceeded to materialize glowing gold stars before shooting them at Spearow, all of them hitting since the move never misses. This made Spearow's attack falter but not completely as it still connected with Staryu, sending it flying into the water.

"Now, Rapid Spin!" Misty ordered, knowing Staryu couldn't afford to take another hit like that. Staryu burst out of the water, spinning quickly. It collided with Spearow, causing a bit of damage to him. "Aerial Ace while it's still in the air!" Ash ordered, knowing that Staryu had a better chance of winning if Ash let it get back underwater. Spearow nodded and dived downwards before sweeping up, connecting with Staryu from underneath and sending it flying upwards. "Now! Use Steel Wing!" Ash ordered. Spearow nodded and once again coated his wings with the metal energy, slamming them into the starfish Pokémon and sending it crashing into a wall, it's core gem flashing signifying it had fainted. "Oh no! Staryu…" Misty said before returning it, smiling down at her Pokéball. "Great job." She said, smiling as Staryu had put up a great fight.

Ash smiled and congratulated Spearow too before returning him, sending out Butterfree in his stead, who came out jabbing his small arms in a similar manner to a boxer, which made the three 'sensational sisters' giggle at his antics, making Butterfree blush. "Misty calls Goldeen!" Misty said, releasing her second Pokémon, a strong looking Goldeen who dived into the pool. "I didn't know you had a Goldeen." Ash commented, looking at the fish with interest. "She got injured prior to me leaving Cerulean so I had to leave her here to heal," Misty said, smiling at the first Pokémon she ever caught. "Goldeen, Horn Attack!" Misty ordered. Goldeen jumped out of the water, faster than expected and jabbed Butterfree with its horn. "Free!" Butterfree cried out in pain, but managed to shake it off, now glaring at the fish who was swimming below. "I can't have Butterfree dive in the water… That's it! Butterfree, Confusion to get Goldeen out of the water, then use Electroweb!" Ash ordered, coming up with a plan on how to effectively take care of the nimble fish.

Butterfree sprang into action, using its psychic powers to lift Goldeen out of the water and throw it up in the air before shooting an electrified web at the Goldfish Pokémon. "Goldeen, use Protect and then follow up with Scald!" Misty ordered. Goldeen cooed and suddenly a glowing green shield appeared around her, preventing the Electroweb from connecting with her. After the Electroweb and the Protect dissipated Goldeen shot a scalding hot beam of water at Butterfree who was hit straight on, getting burned in the process. "Oh no! Butterfree, use Poison Powder and send it at Goldeen with a Gust attack," Ash ordered. Butterfree shook, producing the Powder form his body before sending it spiraling at Goldeen. The Goldfish was his straight on, getting poisoned and smashed into one of the platforms on the pool's surface due to the Gust.

"Goldeen! Quick, hit him with a Supersonic!" Misty ordered. Goldeen screeched loudly, sending sound waves from her horn that were aimed at Butterfree. "Dodge! Then use Bug Buzz!" Butterfree nodded and did his best to dodge the soundwaves before sending his own, much more frequents soundwaves, which hit Goldeen and grinded her into the platform she was situated on. "Goldeen no!" Misty cried out, watching helplessly as the Bug-type move assaulted her. Meanwhile on the bleachers Misty's sisters and Brock were watching the battle intently. "I knew the shrimp couldn't do it." Lilly said, rolling her eyes. "You're like, wrong. She's doing great. His Pokémon are like, obviously super strong, not to mention she's fighting a bug type, which would like, totally immobilize her normally." Daisy said from her place on the bleachers, making everybody turn to her in surprise. She on the other hand was staring at Seel, who was clapping at the battle. "Like, who are you even cheering for?" She questioned her Pokémon, who looked at her before sticking his tongue out and turning back to the battle and clapping some more. Daisy sighed and turned to the battle in time to see Misty returning her not fainted Goldeen.

"You did amazing Goldeen!" Misty complimented her Pokémon before looking at Ash. "You may have come this far but this next one won't be so easy! Misty calls Starmie!" Misty said, sending out her final Pokémon, her prized Starmie. "Use Thunder!" Misty ordered, making Ash gulp. "Butterfree dodge it!" HE ordered urgently, knowing that if the attack connected it would be a devastating blow. Sadly, it did causing Butterfree to shriek in pain, fainting shortly after and floating down towards the pool. Ash returned him before he could hit the surface of the water. "Well done Butterfree, you were amazing." Ash said before turning back to the battlefield. He knew Spearow would also fall to Starmie's Thunder so he decided to use somebody else. "Pikachu, it's up to you." Ash said, turning to his buddy who was standing on his shoulder, watching Starmie intently. Pikachu nodded and jumped down onto the platform.

"Agility Attack!" Ash ordered. Pikachu nodded and shot towards Starmie, too quickly to even react to as it combined Agility with quick attack. As Starmie was standing on the middle platform Pikachu kept jumping and hitting it from all angles. Misty growled and ordered Starmie to use Shadow Ball on the platform it was standing on to launch itself in the air. "Now use Power Gem!" Misty ordered, making Ash groan. "Dodge and leap into the air! Then Slam it to the ground with iron tail!" Ash ordered. Pikachu nodded and dodged the gems flying at him before using his tail to spring up into the air above Starmie and slamming his tail down onto it, sending it flying downwards. "Thunderbolt!" Ash ordered, not wanting to give Starmie or Misty time to recover. Pikachu did as asked and shot the Thunderbolt at Starmie. "Dodge with Rapid Spin! Then use Psychic!" Starmie rushed to follow, spinning away from the platform before turning towards Pikachu and capturing it with its psychic abilities, smashing it onto the platforms. "Pikachu! Quick use Electro Tail!" Ash ordered. Pikachu sprang into action, going so quickly it looked as if it had teleported in from of Starmie, an Electroball floating above his Iron coated tail. Pikachu slammed his tail into Starmie, causing the Electroball to explode. Both Starmie and Pikachu were struggling after that attack.

'What should I do…' Ash tried to think but suddenly he saw Pikachu charging at Starmie, before he could call Pikachu off Pikachu connected with Starmie and the starfish Pokémon was shot backwards with great force. "What?! That couldn't have been Quick Attack… unless. Pikachu! You learned Return!" Ash yelled out happily, watching as Starmie was revealed to be fainted, only to look towards Pikachu, who was also lying unconscious on the platform. "I guess you used all your strength in that last attack huh." Ash said, walking over to where Pikachu was as the Platforms all moved to the edges of the pool. He picked the mouse up and pet him gently, hugging him tightly and smiling proudly at his Pokémon. He looked over at Misty who was standing beside him praising Starmie. "I didn't expect the Psychic and Power Gem." Ash commented, looking at her Pokémon. "Starmie learned those recently so I figured they could be my ace in the hole in case you got his far in one of our battles, not that I expected to have to battle you today. I'm glad I did though, I don't even know what my sisters were doing. Speaking of which, excuse me for a moment." She said before standing up and returning Starmie before turning towards the bleachers, glaring at her sisters. "We need to talk." She said, motioning towards the exit. Daisy sighed and then stood up, telling Seel to go interact with Ash before she went ahead, pulling Violet and Lilly with her.

As the sisters exited the room they closed the door behind them, signaling Brock and Ash to wait for a bit in the pool room. Seel came up to Ash and stuck out his tongue, revealing a gym badge which Ash took, slightly hesitantly mind you. Meanwhile, outside in the hallway the four Cerulean city sisters were having a heated discussion. "I can't believe you three! Are you trying to run the gym into the ground? What if Ash had been a secret League Investigator! If you pulled that stuff with one of them they would shut down the gym and take our license away. How could you ever be so reckless!" Misty shouted at her sisters, who shuffled around uncomfortably. "It's like, not that big f a deal. Chill out." Lilly said, though it held no punch as she was also feeling thoroughly chastised.

"NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL!? This gym has been run by our family for generations! The gym was our parents' most prized possession! How dare you make a mockery of it! Ever since mom and dad died you guys have done nothing but be selfish and do what you want to do, while not giving a rattata's tail about anything else! You guys may not care about the Gym but I do, it's one of the few things we have left from our parents and you guys have done nothing but disrespect their memory! They're probably rolling like dervishes in their graves! You may not want the life of a gym leader but Arceus be damned if I let you ruin this for me. I've done nothing but live my life under your shadows for fifteen years, letting you tease and mock me, letting you control my choices but that ends now. Either you get a hold of yourselves and take your duties seriously or I'll never speak to any of you again!" Misty ranted, screaming at her sisters until her voice was hoarse and broken and tears streamed down her eyes, both from anger and from sadness, her fists clenched at her sides, shaking.

"Misty…" Daisy whispered, looking at her little sister sadly. How had she not seen how hurt her sister had been? She was supposed to be the oldest, the one who takes care of all of them yet she had completely failed. Misty was right, their mom and dad would be disappointed in them. After their parents died they all coped in different ways, Daisy with modeling, Violet and her sports and Lilly with modeling, but Misty had become obsessed at mastering water type Pokémon, which were both other mothers favorite type and their dad's. They all thought it was silly but mostly let her be. The three oldest sisters mostly saw the gym as a burden, a reminder of the parents they lost all those years ago but to Misty, it meant a way she could get close to her parents, whom she had lost too early in life. Daisy, Violet and Lilly were never talented battlers but all of them combined their interests and came up with the idea of the water shows. They raked in a lot of cash and all three sisters loved them, but it seems like they got so caught up in the shows that they forgot all about the gym.

Daisy truly didn't know what to say, frankly, there was nothing to say. They had gotten lazy and couldn't be bothered to be Gym Leaders anymore, completely disgracing their parent's memories. It was just… Even their Pokémon were a reminder of their parents. You see, when their parents died each of them received one of their Parent's personal Pokémon. Daisy got her dad's Blastoise and her mother's Dewgong, Violet got her father's Tentacruel and her mother's Lanturn, Lilly got her dad's Seaking and her mom's Mantine and Misty got dad's Starmie and her mom's Staryu, Pokémon their parents raised together ever since they had been married.

"I never knew you felt like this." Surprisingly, Lilly said, sobbing quietly. Lilly and Misty had never truly gotten along but Lilly did love her sister, all her sisters, very much. She'd never admit it but she'd always been jealous of Misty, who was the youngest and most doted on by their parents and showed so many traits both of their parents possessed it was uncanny. It was why Lilly distanced herself so much from Misty, she reminded her so much of her mom and dad it was insane. But, it seems in her jealousy and grief she had crossed a line she wasn't sure her parents could forgive. "They'd forgive you." Misty said, causing Lilly's head to snap up towards Misty, her eyes wide with shock. "You never did get rid of your habit of talking out loud…" Violet said, shaking her head slightly in exasperation, though in truth she had no room to judge, none of them did. Like it or not, they had failed as big sisters and Violet recognized that clearly. She didn't know what to think right now, it was all so… overwhelming.

Misty stared at her sisters, who all seemed to be in varying states of sadness, though they all seemed thoroughly chastised and they all looked sad and guilty. If Misty was even a slightly different person she'd take satisfaction in their reactions but she couldn't help but want to comfort them. They were the only family she had left after all. "I don't want to be upset at you. I don't want to hate you, but if you lose the gym I don't know how I'd feel…" Misty admitted, and it was true. She held no malice for her sisters, but they seemed so careless when it came to the gym it made Misty angrier than she'd ever been before.

"We won't! I promise, no I swear. We'll like, do our best! We promise! We may not be like, the best battlers ever but we'll make sure the gym is like, there when you finish your journey!" Daisy said, more honest then she'd ever been in her life. No matter what it took, she'd keep this promise. "I promise too!" Both Violet and Lilly said at the same time. Misty stared at them before nodding. "Alright, I believe you. But," she started, making them all gulp nervously. "I'm going to personally make sure you guys are Gym Leader material." Misty said, grinning darkly, making the sisters look even more nervous, though all of them were willing to go through whatever hell Misty would put them through if it meant she'd be happy. Still, they were in for a long training period.

 **-2 weeks later-**

And it had been. Ash, Misty and Brock had spent another two weeks in Cerulean, training the three sisters in battling and other things that they needed to become true Gym Leaders. During the two weeks, the sisters had become so much better in battling it was like they were completely different trainers. They had gotten much closer to the Pokémon they got from their parents, earning their trust and devotion in the process as well as catching a couple of other Pokémon, both from the wild and Pokémon that lived in the aquarium that wanted to battle with them. Daisy caught a Golduck, a Seaking and a Luvdisc, Violet caught a Cloyster, a Shellos and a Lumineon and Lilly caught a Seadra, a Poliwhirl and a Palpitoad. They were all happy with their captures, especially since they'd never actually caught Pokémon before. They worked hard to develop strategies which they got to try out on Ash and Misty as challengers, even managing to win a couple of times, which was impressive as the three never cared much for battling previously. Surprisingly Daisy took to it, the blond putting her most into it and enjoying battling more than she ever had before.

During the two weeks, Misty had also managed to catch a new Pokémon in the form of a large, intimidating Gyarados who had been living outside of Cerulean cave. The whole group had been there so the three sisters could catch some Pokémon and they ended up encountering with Gyarados, who managed to defeat them easily, as this was early on in their training. Ash and Brock weren't there at the time so it fell upon Misty to take care of the situation, even though Gyarados scared her. In the end, a Thunder from Starmie defeated it and Misty ended up catching it, wanting to get over her fear, especially since Gyarados were powerful members of the water type. At the end of the two weeks, she was already close with her Gyarados, who turned out to be a big softy.

After the two weeks, the gang decided to head off to Vermilion and therefor said their goodbyes with Misty's sisters, who promised to take better care of the Gym. A little ways away from Cerulean Ash met a trainer with a Rattata, who after losing to Ash, mentioned that there was a Gym of sorts in the area, which was being run by this super-strong guy named AJ. Naturally, Ash was curious, even more so when he learned that the guy had 99 wins under his belt and no losses. So, with some directions from the trainer Ash and the other headed towards the gym, before finally reaching an enclosed camp of sorts, which was surrounded by large wooden walls. At the front, there was a scoreboard that read **"AJ's Gym, Wins:99, Losses:0"**.

Ash and the others walked inside, only to be met with an open area in front of a large tent, and in the area, there was a battlefield. "Hey! What are you people doing here?" A voice, presumably AJ asked. The trio turned to see a guy, around Ash and Misty's age with green, spiky hair and a Sandshrew at his side walking up to them. "I'm here to challenge AJ. I assume that's you?" Ash asked, looking at the boy. "You assume correct, I'm AJ and after beating you I'll finally be ready to start my own journey." AJ said. Ash didn't know what he meant but he didn't even care that much either so he just ignored it. "So, what are the rules?" Ash asked, eager o start the battle. AJ hummed and seemed to examine Ash before saying "Three on Three, Elimination process, the one who wins the most rounds wins." AJ said before walking away, towards a battlefield. Ash and the others followed but Ash was the only one who walked onto the battlefield. When both Ash and AJ were finally on their respective sides of the fields AJ whistled, causing a buzzing noise to start as a Beedrill flew out of the tent and to his side of the field.

"Cranidos, curtain call!" Ash called out, and yes, he was testing out different phrases for calling out his Pokémon. It was a slow process. Cranidos came out with a roar, stomping on the ground. "You get first move!" AJ yelled out, looking much more concentrated than before. "Cranidos, use Rock Polish and then Focus Energy!" Ash ordered, deciding to set up Cranidos' stats before starting off. Cranidos roared and glowed a bit, first a silver color and then an orange, signifying it had used the moves. "Beedrill, Twineedle!" AJ ordered. Beedrill sprang into action and flew at Cranidos, jabbing its hand stingers at the dino, who managed to avoid most of Beedrill's strikes. "Crunch!" Ash called out, knowing it would be the easiest time to use a physical move, since the bee Pokémon had gotten so close. Cranidos followed through and chomped down on Beedrill, delivering a debilitating attack which was boosted by Cranidos' Sheer Force ability. Beedrill shrieked from the attack, trying to get free. "Beedrill! Use Poison Jab!" AJ ordered. Beedrill coated his stingers in poison and jabbed at Cranidos who finally released the bee from her mouth. "Now Cranidos, use Stone Edge!" Cranidos roared and slammed his foot on the ground before suddenly a bunch of glowing light blue stones Burst from the ground, hitting Beedrill and exploding, sending the bee Pokémon flying down towards the ground, fainted. Cranidos roared victoriously and stomped her foot on the ground some more. "Great job Cranidos! You deserve some rest!" Ash called out and returned her before sending out his next Pokémon. "Sandshrew, I need your assistance!" Ash called out, still didn't feel right.

AJ once again whistled but this time a Butterfree came out of the tent. "Psychic!" AJ called out, not giving Ash room to breathe. Butterfree used its Psychic powers to pick up Sandshrew and slam him into the ground harshly. "Sandshrew! Use Rock Tomb and then use Rollout!" Ash ordered. Sandshrew tried his best and finally managed to get the rocks to appear over Butterfree, sending them flying down at it, causing Butterfree to release Sandshrew so it could dodge the move. Sandshrew then began rolling it a rapid pace, being in a ball form while jumping at Butterfree, hitting the Butterfly quite often. "Butterfree, fly up high and use Sunny day!" AJ ordered. Butterfree followed through without fail, flying too high for Sandshrew to hit it before using the Fire type move, causing a harsh, fake sunlight to appear above the battle field. AJ smirked. "Aerial Ace!" AJ called out. Butter free nodded and dive bombed towards Sandshrew. "Now! Solar Beam!" Butterfree stopped a mere two meters away from Sandshrew before quickly charging the grass type move and firing it point blank.

"NO!" Ash yelled out, rushing forward as soon as the move was over, to where Sandshrew was lying fainted on the ground. "Are you ok?" Ash asked Sandshrew, who slowly opened his eyes and gave Ash a small grin. Ash smiled sadly in response before returning Sandshrew. "Get some rest." Ash said, still concerned for his Pokémon. Ash then walked back over to his spot before turning around, only to see AJ's Sandshrew standing there, battle-ready. "Spearow, Battle Dance!" Ash called out and oh my-. Finally, something that he felt comfortable with! "Spearow! Steel Wing!" Ash called out and AJ was quick to follow "Sandshrew, Crush Claw!"

The attacks collided and the two Pokémon struggled for power, but the two were evenly matched. The battle went on for a while, Spearow and Sandshrew exchanging blow for blow, neither one giving an inch. When one Pokémon was hit it would answer in kind so neither would gain an edge until suddenly out of nowhere Sandshrew managed to hit Spearow with a super-strong Rollout, sending Spearow flying to the ground. The bird wouldn't give up however, and struggled to stand, trying to push himself up with his wings. Ash was about to call the battle, not wanting Spearow to get unnecessarily hurt however the sudden glow interrupted him. Spearow's body grew and grew until the light burst and in Spearow's place stood a mighty Fearow, who gave a loud caw. Ash pulled out his Pokédex and scanned him. **"Fearow, the Beak Pokémon, it's tough and has excellent stamina. It has no problem flying continuously for a whole day carrying a heavy load.**

 **This Fearow is Male and has the ability Sniper. Its known moves are: Peck, Quick Attack, Pursuit , Agility, Steel Wing, Aerial Ace, Fury Attack, Double Team and Roost. Upon evolution tis Fearow learned Drill Peck, Mirror Move and Throat Chop."** The Pokédex said. "Fearow, Throat Chop!" Ash ordered, grinning all the while that another of his Pokémon had evolved. Fearow smiled at him and flew at Sandshrew, his wing connecting with Sandshrew's throat, sending the Ground type flying due to Fearow's now nearly doubled strength. "That was a critical hit!" Brock said, noticing how Fearow's eyes had glowed black during the attack, which signified the Sniper ability activating. Of course, the critical hit, coupled with the sniper ability and Fearow's newfound strength was more than enough to cause Sandshrew to faint. "I… lost." AJ said, but strangely enough he didn't feel disappointed like he expected to feel. He felt… exhilarated, happy. He had never had such a fun battle before; he never knew battling could be this fun before. AJ walked up to Sandshrew, who was smiling despite having lost. "You had fun too huh?" AJ asked and Sandshrew nodded in turn. "I guess battling isn't all about being serious…" AJ muttered and looked up towards Ash, who was hugging Fearow tightly, something that would be shocking if AJ hadn't seen how synchronized the two were in battle. Still, seeing a Fearow act like a tamed Growlithe was surprising.

AJ stood and walked over to Ash and smiled at him. "Congratulations Ash. You have been the first to beat me." AJ said, making Ash turn to him and smile. "It was a tough battle, you're a great trainer. But…what about your journey? You said you'd start your journey when you beat me, but what now?" Ash asked, curios about the other trainer. "I decided to start my journey anyway. I realize now I've become too focused on victories and not enjoying time with my Pokémon and having fun. So, me, Sandshrew and the others will be starting off fresh." AJ explained, looking at Sandshrew who looked very excited at the prospect of adventure and journeying. "Well, I wish you luck. Hopefully we'll meet again someday." Ash said, smiling at AJ, who nodded. "Yeah, but don't count on winning next time." AJ replied and Sandshrew agreed apparently, jumping around and waving his arms around. "I look forward to it." Ash said before returning Fearow and saying his goodbyes with AJ before continuing and wondering, just what could he come across next?


	3. Chapter 3

Ash and the gang were currently walking through a forest, trying to navigate the densely-grown trees. "Ugh, I hate this! I'm so sick of forests…" Misty complained, and she truly was. Sadly, she'd have to get used to them as there were plenty more to come. Suddenly the group stopped up as they saw a small river, where an Oddish was currently drinking from. "It's so cute! I'm going to catch it!" Misty exclaimed, suddenly much happier. "Misty calls Starmie!" Misty said, throwing out her starfish Pokémon. "Starmie, use Water Gun!" Misty ordered. Starmie followed Misty's command, spraying the Oddish causing it to be knocked back slightly, while also giving a small slightly pained cry. Misty was about to call another attack when suddenly a vine shot at Starmie, knocking it away and damaging its core gem. "Hey! What's the big idea!" Misty exclaimed angrily. A Bulbasaur jumped out of some nearby bushes and growled at the group. "No way! It's a Bulbasaur!" Ash yelled, excited at seeing one of the Kanto starters, a set of species Ash had grown up taking care of as Professor Oak's lab assistant.

Bulbasaur glared at them and launched a Razor Leaf attack, causing the group to shield their eyes and bend down to take cover. When the attack was over Ash and the others stood back up but Bulbasaur and Oddish were nowhere to be seen. "Well, I guess it can't be helped now. Still, I wonder why they acted like that." Ash muttered, staring at the spot where Bulbasaur and Oddish had been before sighing. "Well, I guess we should just go further. Hey Misty! Is Starmie ok?" Ash asked, looking down at the purple starfish in concern. Misty smiled "Yeah, it was just caught off guard." Misty said, petting Starmie gently. "That's good. Let's go then." Ash said and soon they were off again. However, it wasn't long until they came to another stop due to a bridge which was situated over a semi-shallow ravine, with some roaring rapids at the bottom.

"Well, if this doesn't look like a trap I don't know what does," Ash said, looking at the bridge with great suspicion, stopping Misty as she was about to walk over it. "I'm not sure that's a great idea. Fearow, come on out!" Ash called out, tossing his Pokeball in the air, releasing Fearow. "Would you mind walking over the bridge for me to test it out?" Ash asked. The fearsome bird nodded and proceeded to walk over the bridge and as expected, it collapsed. Fearow flew back over to the group, most of which was staring at the bridge in horror. "Figures," Ash muttered before sighing once more. "Fearow, would you mind giving us all rides over the ravine?" Ash asked the bird, who shook his head and bent down, signaling towards his back. After giving them all rides Ash thanked Fearow and returned him to his Pokéball.

The group continues down the dirt path, Misty further ahead than the others since she was keen on getting out of the forest as soon as possible. However, her eagerness was too her detriment, since she failed to notice the poorly concealed net trap, getting caught in it and hanging from the net. "Get me down from here! Who keeps putting up these stupid traps!" Misty shrieked, and Ash had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep himself from laughing, and by the looks of it so did Brock. "If they're so stupid, what does it say about you, you feel for it after all." Came a snarky voice. Ash and Brock turned to see a blue haired girl with bright red overalls. She cut a small rope which was holding the net up with a hunting knife, which she didn't put down, but rather held it tightly.

Misty landed with a thump. "Oww…" She muttered, rubbing her butt as she had fallen on it. "What are you doing here?" The girl asked, glaring at them. "I'm sorry but, where exactly is here?" Ash said, while also trying to hold back Brock, who had heart eyes. Not the time for that. "You're lost?" The girl asked, looking at them disbelievingly. "So you didn't know you're about to enter the hidden village?" She asked, glaring at them suspiciously. "The what now?" Misty asked, just now getting up before seeing the knife and shrieking, running behind Ash and Brock and hiding from the seemingly crazy girl. Said crazy girl put the knife down and sighed in relief. "Thank Arceus. I thought the poachers were at it again…" The girl muttered, groaning in annoyance.

"There are many poachers in the area?" Ash's interest peaked, as poachers were some of the people he hated the most. "Unfortunately. You see, the hidden village is a place where I help heal sick and injured Pokémon. Many of the Pokémon that come to the village have been abandoned by trainers and struggle to trust humans. However, they are sweet Pokémon, and they would never harm anybody. Unfortunately, poachers and thieves often come here since the injured Pokémon are easy targets for them. "The girl explained. "That makes sense. We're just passing through though, we promise." Ash said, not wanting to give the girl, who was still holding a knife, by the way, any ideas. "I'm sorry for the whole knife thing. Oh, and the net too." The girl said sheepishly. "And the bridge, if I can hazard to guess," Ash said, making the girl wince. "And the bridge. Again, super, super sorry. Let me make it up to you! The village isn't that far away; you guys can stay for lunch and then I can point you in the direction of where you want to go." She said. "That'd be great, especially if you can tell us how to avoid the traps from now on. Oh, I'm Ash, by the way, this is Brock and this is Misty." Ash said, introducing them individually.

"I'm Melanie. It's nice to meet you!" Melanie said, extending her hand, which unfortunately still had a knife in it. She blushed and let out a small squeak, hiding the knife again. Later, when Ash, Melanie, and the gang were sitting around a wooden table outside, watching their Pokémon play with the village Pokémon. Melanie had just finished serving the sandwiches and tea. Ash saw a large leaf drifting through the wind. Ash plucked it from the air held it up to his lips and started whistling, the tune coming from the leaf being soft and melodic. It was a song he had learned from his visit to Alamos town in Sinnoh with Professor Oak. Ash had met an older girl named Alice, who enjoyed playing with Pokémon and taught Ash the song after she saw how much he loved Pokémon too. She told him the song was called Oración and that it could calm down even the angriest Pokémon and most people as well. It always did, whenever Ash played it for the Pokémon in the ranch, which had stopped any squabbles and altercations.

Everything seemed to freeze in the hidden village, all the Pokémon and people watching Ash, happiness, and calmness swelling in their bodies. All of them were smiling, looking at Ash playing the song for them. It seemed like everything was brighter and all the Pokémon who had previously been unnerved by a human other than Melanie being in the hidden village now relaxed and walked closer to the humans, many of them now being pet by Misty and Brock.

Even Bulbasaur, who was the most distrusting of humans slowly walked over to where Ash was sitting, jumping up next to him and nuzzling him. Ash's free hand came up to pet Bulbasaur, who flinched slightly but relaxed as he saw Ash meant him no harm. As the song came to an end everybody was smiling, and some were even crying happy tears, including Misty and Oddish, who was now in her lap. "That was beautiful," Melanie said, staring at Ash. Misty and Brock nodded, agreeing completely.

"It seems Bulbasaur enjoyed it as well. Of all the Pokémon in the village, he trusts humans the least. You see, Bulbasaur belonged to a trainer who was abusive. In the end, the trainer abandoned Bulbasaur and he wandered here, where I nursed him back to health. Ever since then he's been repaying me by protecting the village, even though he's free to leave and do whatever he wants. He is a very loyal Pokémon." Melanie said, smiling at the grass type, who tried to shy away from the group's stares. "People like that are despicable," Ash said, shocking everybody. "People who mistreat Pokémon, who use Pokémon as tools for fame, money, power. People like that don't deserve to have Pokémon, they don't deserve to exist…" Ash said, clenching his fists. He simply despised people who treated Pokémon poorly. He had personally witnessed many abused Pokémon from his time with Professor Oak and studying under him. Thankfully the Professor knew what the warning signs and red flags were and had no tolerance for people who treat Pokémon poorly.

"Bulba-Bulbasaur!" Bulbasaur said, nudging at his hand, which had been clenched and nuzzling it gently. Ash smiled and began petting Bulbasaur again, oblivious to the stares he got from the others, especially Melanie who looked to be deep in thought. She looked towards Bulbasaur, who had so easily warmed up to a perfect stranger, a human and then she looked towards Oddish who was snuggled in Misty's lap. "Sometimes-" Melanie started, getting everybody's attention. "Sometimes I feel like the Pokémon here are living too cushy. Since Bulbasaur is so good at protecting the Pokémon they never feel the need to leave. I have no issue with them staying if they want, but they should go out there, remember how life outside the village is. This village was meant to be a rehabilitation center, where Pokémon could go and stay until they are better and then leave and live a better life. Sometimes I wonder if the Pokémon staying here is only going to harm them in the long run." Melanie admitted. The group stared at her, making her chuckle. "It's silly really, though I do think the Pokémon here would benefit from going out on their own. Which is why, I wanted to ask you, Ash, to take Bulbasaur with you and Misty, I want you to take Oddish with you. Brock, I'd like it if you adopted a Pokémon too." Melanie requested, making the group gape at her, though Bulbasaur seemed surprisingly calm, only jumping towards her and nuzzling her. "It's ok Bulbasaur, you've been a tremendous help, but I think it's time for the Pokémon of the village to learn how to defend themselves." She said.

Bulbasaur stared at her for a while before nodding and then looking towards Ash, stomping his front paw down. Melanie giggled at Bulbasaur's antics. "It seems he wants to battle with you first Ash," Melanie said. Meanwhile Misty and Oddish were looking at each other. "Do you really want to come along with me?" Misty asked Oddish, who nodded and smiled at her. She smiled gently at Oddish and nodded, taking a Pokeball out of her backpack and lightly tapping Oddish with it. It was caught easily. Brock was also having his own interaction, but with a Paras, he had been near, who had tapped his hand when Melanie said he should adopt a Pokémon too. He questioned Paras, asking if she wanted to come along with him. She agreed and he also tapped her with a Pokeball, catching her. After catching their respective Pokémon Brock and Misty turned to look at Ash, who was standing on the opposite side of Bulbasaur in a small clearing. "Pidgeotto, Battle Dance!" Ash called out, sending his Pidgeotto out. Bulbasaur prepared himself before firing a small tornado of leaves at Pidgeotto. "That's a Leaf Tornado!" Brock exclaimed, surprised that Bulbasaur had such a strong attack. "Well, he's not the protector of the village for no reason," Melanie said, amused at Brock's reaction. "Pidgeotto, dodge and then use Aerial Ace!" Ash ordered. Pidgeotto sprang into action, avoiding the raging storm of leaves and charging at Bulbasaur. The attack connected, damaging Bulbasaur in the process. "Now, use Double Attack!" Ash called out, wanting to test one a new combo of Double Team and Wind Attack. Pidgeotto seemingly split into several different copies of herself, all of them diving at Bulbasaur, striking them with their wings, though only one was real and did damage, it was a lot of damage since it was super-effective. "Now, go Pokeball!" Ash called out, tossing a Pokeball at Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur got sucked into the Pokeball which shook once, then twice, and finally let out a small click-noise and sparkled, signifying a successful capture.

Ash cheered and jumped around happily, praising Pidgeotto before finally returning her. He then ran over to the Pokeball and picked it up but as he did so it teleported away. "That's right! I have six Pokémon with me right now!" Ash exclaimed, slapping himself for being so silly and forgetting. Ash then took out his Pokédex and went to the "My Pokémon feature and brought up Bulbasaur's data. Thank Arceus Ash had convinced the Professor to program that feature into the Pokédex. "

 **"Bulbasaur, the Seed Pokémon, Bulbasaur. It bears the seed of a plant on its back from birth. The seed slowly develops. Researchers are unsure whether to classify Bulbasaur as a plant or animal. Bulbasaurs are extremely calm and very difficult to capture in the wild.**

 **This Bulbasaur is Male and has the ability Chlorophyll. Its known moves are Razor Leaf, Tackle, Vine Whip, Leech Seed, Take Down, Synthesis and Leaf Storm."**

Ash smiled at the moves Bulbasaur knew before tucking his Pokédex away again. As he was about to walk off he heard a faint buzz and looked over to a Combee who flew up to him and started chattering to him. "You want to come with me too?" Ash asked, looking at the small bee who nodded, wanting to be with her friend. Ash nodded and took another Pokeball out of his bag, tapping her on the head and catching her, the Pokeball getting teleported away. Ash also decided to check her information with his Pokédex.

 **"Combee, the Tiny Bee Pokémon, It collects and delivers honey to its colony. At night, they cluster to form a beehive and sleep.**

 **This Combee is Female and has the ability Honey Gather. Its known moves are Sweet Scent, Gust, Bug Bite and Tailwind"** Ash cheered, having gotten two new captures, two new family members added to his team. Ash and the gang said their goodbyes with Melanie and the Pokémon from the village before heading off once again.

A day or two later Ash and the gang were still heading to Vermilion, though this time they were in a more open area. "Ugh, where are we?" Misty asked, sick of getting lost all the time. "We are near Route 24, which leads directly to Vermilion city," Brock said, humming happily as he put away his map. "Yes! Thank goodness!" Misty cheered hopping around happily. Suddenly, a large shadow fell over the group. They looked ahead, only to see a large rock with a shadowy figure on top of it. When they're eyes settled Ash and the group saw a Charmander sitting on a large rock. "Well, that's something you don't see every day. Hey Pikachu, would you mind asking Charmander if its ok?" Ash asked his partner, who nodded and ran over to the lizard, starting to talk to it animatedly. When Pikachu came back he stood still for a second before snapping its small fingers. Then, Pikachu mimed what appeared to be a wristwatch. "It wants to know what the time is?" Misty asked, staring at Pikachu who shook his head. "It's waiting for someone? It's Trainer perhaps?" Ash deduced, making Pikachu nod, happy to have been understood. "Charmander's trainer told him to wait here?" Ash asked, trying to get more information. This situation didn't sit well with him, but it was probably nothing. "Well, I guess if the trainer is coming back then it should be fine, even if its tail flame is looking pretty weak," Ash said and soon the group was on their were on their way. Eventually coming upon a Pokémon center.

It was a good thing too as just as they entered the Pokémon center it started raining violently, seemingly out of nowhere. Ash gasped. "The Charmander!" Ash exclaimed, looking back outside. "There's no way it waited around that long," Misty said, but she was also frowning slightly. "Yo Damian, where's that sissy Charmander you caught a week ago?" They heard a voice and the group whipped around to see a group of shady-looking guys sitting in the couch area. "The little weakling is probably still waiting for me on the rock I left him on. Such a dumb lizard. The thing couldn't even win a single battle against a grass type. Hell, it'll probably stay there thinking I'll come back for it. Good thing it's raining." Damian said causing the group to laugh nervously. Ash growled, his fists clenched at his sides and stormed over to the group. "Who the-" Damian started to say but never got the chance to finish as Ash punched him in the face, breaking his nose and effectively knocking him out. "What's going on in here!" Nurse Joy said, walking over to them. "Mam, I would like to report a case of Pokémon abuse, please call Officer Jenny. This guy abandoned his Charmander, knowing full well it would wait for him. What's worse is he knows how dangerous the rain is for it." Ash said quickly before running off outside, ignoring the calls from Brock and Misty, who kept saying it was too dangerous. He had to get there on time.

As Ash was nearing the rock where Charmander was he called out Pidgeotto and Fearow, explaining the situation to them as he kept running. He jumped on Fearow's back and together they flew to the large rock, where Charmander was still waiting, soaking wet and tail flame diminishing by the minute. Ash ordered Pidgeotto to pick Charmander up and fly him back to the Pokémon center, with Ash and Fearow following after them. Charmander tried to struggle, he tried to attack Pidgeotto but the rain had worn him down so much he could barely do anything. He had exhausted himself trying to keep his flame going. Thankfully due to the flying type's help they got there quickly, which minimized the damage to Charmander. As Ash got there he got Charmander from Pidgeotto and returned the two birds before running inside the Pokémon center, straight to Nurse Joy. "Nurse Joy, please! You have to help it!" Ash begged, placing Charmander on the counter. Nurse Joy gasped when she saw the Charmander and hit the panic button, a Chansey pushing a gurney bursting out of the doors which separated the common area and the treating area. Charmander was placed on the gurney and pushed into the treatment area, the little light above the doors turning on, signifying an ongoing operation.

Ash, Brock, and Misty waited while Nurse Joy did her thing, the only thing distracting them being Officer Jenny, who came in to apprehend Damian, who had been placed in a temporary jail while he was still knocked out. Officer Jenny just asked a few questions, also reprimanding Ash half-heartedly about punching Damian before walking off as her fellow Officers dragged Damian out of the Pokémon center. "He will never be a trainer again; you can be sure of that." Officer Jenny said, glaring at the blue-haired teen. "Thank Arceus," Ash said, also glaring at Damian, who was yelling obscenities at everybody. After that ordeal was over Ash, Misty and Brock just continued sitting on the couches, waiting for Charmander's operation to be over. The hours went on and on, both Misty and Brock going to bed on the couches in the lobby with Pikachu but Ash just couldn't bring himself to sleep. At last, the light above the door to the medical area turned off and Nurse Joy walked out, looking exhausted.

"Nurse Joy! Is Charmander going to be ok?" Ash asked, running up to her. "It will take a little bit, but yes." Nurse Joy said, smiling gently at Ash, who seemed genuinely concerned for a Pokémon that wasn't even his own. Joy wished more people could be like Ash. "Would you like to see him?" Nurse Joy asked, looking at Ash. He nodded and she turned, leading him into the treatment area towards a room, where Charmander laid in an incubator like area. Charmander opened its eyes to look at Ash. "Mander? Mand, Mander!" Charmander cried out, starting to struggle. Ash looked at it sadly. "I'm sorry, but Damian was never going to come back. He planned to leave you there to die." Ash said, and it may have been blunt but Charmander needed to hear it. He couldn't keep his delusions that how Damian treated him wasn't ok and that the trainer shouldn't be important to Charmander. "He's a liar, you know? He called you weak, he called you stupid but that's not true." Ash said, surprising Charmander. "When he looked at you he just saw a tool that could make him stronger but you're so much more. You're brilliant, and so, so loyal. He probably expected you to be strong, without training you. Was that about right?" Ash asked Charmander, who looked down with a frown before nodding.

"Figured as much. You may not be able to win every fight, hell, you may even lose most of them, but I think that says more about Damian then it does about you. To win battles you should train to get stronger. Anybody can be very strong, yourself included. You didn't deserve what he did to you. You deserve a trainer who would treat you right, who would take care of you. I'm sorry he was the one who caught you." Ash said, tears falling from his eyes. "Mander…" Charmander mumbled, putting up his paw against the glass. Ash smiled and put his hand against the glass where Charmander's paw was. "I'm happy you're going to be alright," Ash said before standing up and drying his eyes before wishing Charmander goodnight.

The next morning Ash was shaken awake by Brock, who smiled at him. "Is it morning already?" Ash groaned, struggling to get up since he had stayed up so late the day before. "How's Charmander?" Ash asked as he sat up from the couch he had been sleeping on. "See for yourself," Brock said and stepped aside, revealing a perfectly alright Charmander standing before him. "You're ok!" Ash exclaimed cheerfully, jumping down to hug the Lizard, who was surprised by Ash's actions but hugged him back. After pulling from the hug Ash looked at Brock "How is Charmander ok? I thought Nurse Joy said it would take a while for him to recover." Ash said, looking at Brock. "Nurse Joy managed to find a trainer here with a fire type, who helped get Charmander's tail flame to a healthy state," Brock said. Ash nodded and smiled at the small lizard, petting him softly. "Charmander wants to come with you." Nurse Joy said, smiling at the two. "Really?" Ash asked Charmander, who nodded hesitantly, not knowing if he could fully trust the human or not. Ash smiled and pet Charmander comfortingly before taking a Luxury Ball Ash had won in an online contest when he was younger. He tapped Charmander with the Luxury Ball, capturing it.

Ash then stood up and walked over to the Video Phones, calling Professor Oak. It took a minute or two but he eventually the Professor picked up the phone, smiling brightly as he saw Ash. "Oh, Ash! Nice to hear from you! Did you get to Vermilion already?" The Professor asked, sipping his coffee. "No, I actually wanted to call you about switching up my team for now. I'll make sure to change them up whenever I can but I want to bond with my newest captures. Especially Charmander, considering the circumstances." Ash said, glaring slightly to the side. "The circumstances?" Oak questioned, intrigued at not only how Ash had managed to catch to starters but what had happened to make the usually calm, happy boy visibly upset. "You see, Charmander's trainer was abusive. He left Charmander on a rock, promising to come back for him while never actually planning to, despite knowing it was going to rain, which would likely kill Charmander." Ash said, his fists clenched in anger. Oak's face hardened, as he simply despised people like that.

"Those are unfortunate circumstances. Which is why-" Oak started, gaining Ash's attention. "You will be allowed to carry 7 Pokémon with you until Charmander gets better," Oak said, making Ash gape at him. "You can do that?" Ash said, honestly surprised. "Yes, every Pokémon Professor is a League official, and all-league officials have permission to increase the capacity of a trainer's team, however, we don't do it often. Only trainers who have proved themselves get their team capacity increased, and they get it taken away quickly at the first infraction." Oak explained. Ash nodded as it made sense, the increase was a privilege, which could be taken away whenever. "You know, in a little over the month, a League-sponsored event is happening in Celadon. It's basically a test which trainers can take. It will be difficult but all who pass get their team capacity increased by 4 unless they already have a team capacity of 12, in which case they only get two additional slots. "Oak explained. Ash smiled as that was happening around the time he would be in Celadon, and if he passed both training and taking care of his Pokémon would be so much easier. "I see, thank you for telling me, Professor. I would like to switch out Pidgeotto and Butterfree for Bulbasaur and Combee, as well as get Charmander sent over for the seventh slot. I'll send you Cranidos too in case I catch another Pokémon soon." Ash said. Oak nodded, approving of his choices. "Very well, I'll go retrieve their Pokéballs and send them over to the center if you'll head over to the exchange machine," Oak said before hanging up.

Ash walked over to the machine before calling out Butterfree, Pidgeotto, and Cranidos, saying his goodbyes and instructing them on what they should train on when they were at the ranch, as well as promising to swap them back when he got to Vermilion. They were sad but understood and soon enough they were back inside their Pokéballs. As the phone connected to the exchange machine rang Ash picked it up and doing as professor Oak instructed and soon enough Bulbasaur, Combee and Charmander were in his party. Ash smiled and bid Professor Oak a good day, hanging up. Ash then took out his Pokédex to scan Charmander.

 **"Charmander, the Lizard Pokémon, Charmander's health can be gauged by the fire on the tip of its tail, which burns intensely when it's in good health.**

 **This Charmander is Male and has the ability Blaze. Its known moves are: Scratch, Flamethrower, Smokescreen, Swords Dance and Bite" Ash nodded happily, as Charmander wasn't weak in the slightest. He would show Damian and the world that Charmander was strong. And that, that was a promise.**

Later that day

Ash, Misty, Brock, Pikachu, and Charmander were walking along the main road to Viridian. The area around them was wide, never-ending plains, with few trees and bushes scattered around. Suddenly Ash froze and grabbed Brock and Misty's shoulders, tugging them backward. "Wha!? Ash, why did you do that?" Misty exclaimed, glaring at him slightly. Ash just sighed and glared at the ground in front of them. Brock caught on and picked up one of the bigger rocks scattered around at the side of the road and tossed it ahead of them.

Misty just stared strangely until the rock hit the ground, causing a large circular chunk of the ground to cave in, revealing that it had been a trap that was about a few meters deep, enough to at least cause some sprained ankles and a few concussions.

Suddenly five blue blurs landed right in front of the group. They looked up, only to see five Squirtles in front of them, all with a pair of sunglasses on their faces. The one in the middle, clearly the leader, had different glasses than the others and had its arms crossed while glaring at the group. "Were you the ones who placed this trap in the middle of the road?" Ash asked, glaring at the gang of Pokémon. The main Squirtle just nodded, but otherwise gave no response to Ash's question. "You could have seriously hurt somebody! What would you do if that had happened?" Ash asked, now glaring at the group of Pokémon. Four of the Squirtles had the decency to look at least slightly ashamed, but the leader just continued to glare, before suddenly shooting a Water Gun at Ash, who ducked out of the way. The four Squirtles stared at their leader in surprise, clearly not having expected that.

"You want a fight?" Ash asked, looking at the turtle intently. Squirtle nodded before ordering the other four to move out of the way. Ash looked at the Squirtle in consideration for a moment before sending out Bulbasaur who stomped on the ground and gave a cry, itching to battle along-side Ash for the first time.

Squirtle gave Ash and Bulbasaur no room to think since it immediately launched into a Rapid Spin. "Dodge and use the momentum to use Take Down!" Ash called out. Bulbasaur nodded and jumped into the air, over the incoming Squrtle. Then Bulbasaur dived down and slammed the turtle into the ground with the Take Down, getting slightly hurt in the process. Squirtle stood up shakily and glared at Bulbasaur. "Now use Vine Whip!" Ash ordered. Bulbasaur's vines shot out towards Bulbasaur but before they could hit the Tiny Turtle Squirtle used Bite on the vines and swung them and Bulbasaur in tow into the air before launching into an Aqua Jet, sending Bulbasaur flying. Thankfully Bulbasaur managed to recover in time and landed on his feet. "Synthesis into Leaf Storm!" Ash cried out, surprised at the power the little turtle was packing.

Bulbasaur glowed yellow and all the visible scratches faded away, Bulbasaur himself looking better. Then Bulbasaur summoned a small tornado of leaves which swallowed up the turtle and sent it flying in the air, the leaves hitting it multiple times before the storm faded. Squirtle glared at Bulbasaur and charged again with Rapid Spin, however this time it used Bubble at the same time. "Into the air Bulbasaur, use Leaf Storm onto the ground!" Bulbasaur immediately jumped up and used Leaf Storm, the bounce-back from the move helping Bulbasaur remain airborne. Squirtle's bubbles all got popped and its shell also got pretty scratched up.

"Ash and Bulbasaur are really in-sync," Misty commented, watching the battle intently. As stubborn and hot-headed as she was she had to admit that Ash was an amazing battler, even as a beginner he came up with such great and diverse strategies that even Misty and Brock, having been trained as Gym Leaders, struggled to keep up. The boy truly was amazing. And he managed to bond with his Pokémon quickly, as evidenced by this battle. "You can tell Bulbasaur trusts Ash, which is strange given Bulbasaur's backstory. I think him and Ash will make great partners.

Meanwhile, Bulbasaur and Squirtle were glaring at each other intently. 'As if I'd lose to a human's trained pet.' Squirtle said, glaring almost hatefully at Ash. 'I am not his pet. I am his friend, as are all the others and you better not disrespect him you barbarian.' Bulbasaur replied, quick to defend his new trainer. 'Friend!?' Squirtle cried out incredulously. 'Humans can never be our friends! They just use us and throw us away!' Squirtle shouted at Bulbasaur, whose eyes immediately softened. 'You were abandoned.' Bulbasaur said, well, stated. 'Shut up!' Squirtle yelled, charging at Bulbasaur with a Rapid Spin, this time hitting the Seed Pokémon and sending it back a bit. 'I was abandoned before too, by my previous trainer.' Bulbasaur said and Squirtle looked at him with shock. 'Then how can you be owned by another human again! You should hate them all as much as I do!' Squirtle cried out, not understanding Bulbasaur's mentality at all.

'Not all humans are like your previous trainer, like my previous trainer. Yes, some humans just use Pokémon as tools, but there are those who see us as equals, who treat us as friends, as a family!' Bulbasaur replied, thinking of both Melanie and Ash. Bulbasaur himself was shocked at how much he trusted Ash but he didn't question it. There was something about Ash that Bulbasaur found comforting, an Aura of sorts. 'And I suppose your trainer is one of those humans.' Squirtle scoffed, the word trainer coming out like poison from his lips. 'Yes, he is! Ash is kinder than most, and even though I've been with him for a very short time I can already tell he is the kind of person I'd want as a trainer for the rest of my life!' Bulbasaur shouted, surprised by his own outburst. Squirtle didn't reply and just glared.

Ash had been watching them interact intently, in-between the moves they launched at each other. It was fascinating, but this was also a battle and it had been dragging on for way too long. Both Squirtle and Bulbasaur seemed fatigued, and Ash decided it was time to end this. "Bulbasaur, use Leaf Storm one more time, but strengthen it with Razor Leaf!" Ash called out. Leaf Storm packed a powerful punch, but the leaves used in the move were slightly duller than the ones used in Razor Leaf. The main reason for the move's power is the sheer quantity of the leaves, as well as the quick motion. Coupling Leaf Storm with the leaves created during Razor Leaf should hopefully finish the battle. Ash also made a mental note to train Bulbasaur in sharpening his leaves when materializing them in battle.

Bulbasaur did his best and the leaves in Leaf Storm did get a bit sharper, the storm swallowing Squirtle up before he could react, doing a great chunk of damage. When the storm finally dissipated Squirtle's shell laid on the ground and eventually, Squirtle's head and arms popped out, the turtle clearly fainted. Ash smiled and ran up to Bulbasaur, petting him and congratulating him softly. The Squirtle Squad stared in shock. Not only had this human beaten their leader but he was now praising his Pokémon. When Ash stood and walked over the leader Squirtle the rest jumped into action, guarding their leader protectively. "It's ok. I just want to give him a potion to help out with recovery." Ash said softly. The four Squirtle looked at him suspiciously and looked at each other before they all nodded and stepped back. Ash kneeled to the fainted Squirtle and sprayed the potion on him, watching as some scratches and bruises slowly faded. Then Ash took out a small towel and slowly stroked Squirtle's shell, cleaning it up a bit. The Squirtle stirred awake, visibly appreciating the soothing feeling before suddenly it opened its eyes and cried in shock, jumping away from Ash.

"Hey now, it's ok. I just wanted to heal you up a bit and clean up your shell a bit. It's a shame it got so dirty in the battle, it's beautiful. Nice color and sheen on it, you're clearly strong and healthy." Ash commented off-handedly making Squirtle preen slightly before he shook himself out of it and glared at Ash. Before either party could do anything, a motor was heard and officer Jenny came speeding into view. "Aha! I finally caught you demons!" Officer Jenny shouted almost hysterically as she glared at the Squirtles, who gave a yelp and shuffled behind their leader, who just glared at the Officer. "Erm… what seems to be the problem Officer?" Ash asked, shuffling awkwardly. "These little troublemakers have been wreaking havoc around a town nearby for nearly two months now and I and the villagers have had it with them!" Officer Jenny said, still glaring. Ash looked at her and realized she wasn't messing around but… looking at the group of Squirtles in front of him… they didn't seem like bad Pokémon, and Ash wanted to protect them.

"They can stop! I can vouch for them!" Ash said, making everybody stare at him in shock, especially the Squirtles. "You can vouch for them? Young man these Squirtle have stolen a lot of food from the nearby village and caused tons of damage, why are you defending them?" Jenny questioned Ash, staring at him in a perturbed manner. "I know they aren't bad Pokémon, there must be a reason why they did those things and I can promise they will stop if you just let them off the hook this once. Please!" Ash pleaded with the officer who stared at him, trying to study the young man in front of her. In the end, she sighed and said "Fine, I will let them off the hook if they promise to stop vandalizing the town and… and if they join the town's fire-fighting department." Jenny said reluctantly.

The Squirtle Squad was surprised and looked amongst each other, talking quietly before finally coming to a decision. They agreed to join with Jenny, well, most of them. The leader of the Squirtles turned to Ash and was staring at him intently. Finally, the leader seemed to make up his mind and told his friends what he wanted to do. The other four Squirtle smiled sadly at him and said their encouragements. All four of them had also been abandoned, but the four of them liked humans much more than their leader, and they were happy he was finally going to try and get along with people again, especially under a trainer.

The leader turned back to Ash again after hearing the encouragements from his squad and stared again. "Do you… want to come with me?" Ash said, slightly surprised. The leader nodded resolutely. "Are you sure?" Ash asked again. The Squirtle nodded once again, happy with the way the human reacted. Ash smiled at Squirtle and nodded slightly before his head snapped up to Officer Jenny. "Is that alright Officer?" Ash asked, hoping she would allow the leader Squirtle to come with Ash. She considered this, looking at both Ash and the leader before she finally nodded. "That is permissible." She said, smiling when Ash cheered happily and bent down to Squirtle. He took out a Luxury Ball and tapped the leader on the head, immediately hearing the small ding that signified a successful capture. Ash then picked up his Pokedex and scanned Squirtle's Pokeball.

 **"Squirtle, the Tiny Turtle Pokemon, during battle Squirtle uses its shell to hide from dangerous attacks. It can shoot powerful blasts of water from inside of its shell."**

 **This Squirtle is Male and has the ability Rain Dish. Its known moves are Tackle, Water Gun, Withdraw, Bubble, Aqua Jet, Bite and Rapid Spin."**

"Squirtle, battle dance!" Ash sent out Squirtle, who looked at Ash questioningly. "I thought you would like to say your goodbyes with your friends. I can always call Officer Jenny if you'd like to stay in touch if she will allow it." Ash said, half-questioning the Officer who immediately nodded. "Yes, that should be fine if I'm free at the time. I can give you my own personal number so my coworkers won't assume it's somebody calling to report a crime." She said. All five Squirtles perked up at this, happy that they would be able to talk with each other still.

The five Squirtles said their good-byes to each other for quite a while before finally parting, the four Squirtles getting into Officer Jenny's sidecar and letting her drive them away while they waved goodbye towards their leader, who waved back. Finally, they disappeared in the distance and Squirtle turned back to Ash, who petted him softly, frowning a bit at Squirtle's flinch before returning him and walking back to Misty and Brock. "You never cease to surprise us," Brock said making Ash blush and laugh awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. Soon after the group was back on the road to Vermillion, chatting idly among themselves.


	4. Chapter 4

On the way to Vermillion City, the gang decided to stop by a beach that was along the way and then proceed to a lighthouse nearby which was owned by one of Professor Oak's friends and fellow professor Bill. Ash had met Bill a couple of times while working at Professor Oak's Ranch and the man seemed quite smart and had a large sum of knowledge when it comes to Pokémon. He was just a tad… eccentric.

Ash was a tad lost in his own thoughts as he walked along the road, a few steps behind Misty and Brock. He couldn't afford to pull any punches with Lt. Surge. The man is brutal, which is understandable but still quite intimidating. He has the second highest win rate of all of Kanto Gym Leaders, right behind Sabrina, though not far from third place, which belonged to Giovanny of the Viridian Gym. Lt. Surge was known for the sheer strength of his Pokémon and their brutal attacks.

Ash already knew which Pokémon he'd be using in the Gym battle. Sandshrew's ground typing would do wonders in the battle, since from what Ash could tell from different forums and Surge's personal trainer info (it's weird how much you can find online), the man didn't have much to counter ground types. If Sandshrew fainted then Ash would then go to Cranidos since while she lacked the immunity she is very resistant to electric attacks and is in turn super-effective against Electric Pokémon. If Cranidos fainted, then Ash would turn to Bulbasaur as his last Pokémon. While Bulbasaur wasn't particularly effective offensively against Electric Pokémon it did resist their attacks. While Bulbasaur was also new to Ash's team Ash has full confidence in Bulbasaur as a capable battler. Ash hoped that he wouldn't even need to resort to Bulbasaur just in case him being this new to the team results in Bulbasaur being hurt. Ash had no other option though, Butterfree, Pidgeotto, Fearow, and Squirtle were out of the question and Charmander had yet to gain confidence in himself to be truly effective in combat.

So now all that was left to do was to plan what to focus on when Ash did his two weeks of training before the gym battle. Obviously, Ash was going to train all on his Pokémon but he'd need to focus on Cranidos, Sandshrew, and Bulbasaur to win the gym battle. First Ash thought about Sandshrew. The shrew was already working up to be quite the formidable battler, gaining more and more speed and strength by the day. Ash planned on expanding Sandshrew's move pool even further in hopes of creating more possible combos and strategies that will catch people off-guard. This and increasing Sandshrew's overall stats will hopefully do wonders to improve Sandshrew's battle prowess. Ash could see early signs of upcoming evolution that Sandshrew usually displayed. Having studied under Professor Oak Ash knew early signs of most Kanto Pokémon who had an incoming evolution. Of course, there were some species, such as the Magikarp species that didn't show any signs and spontaneously evolve when they are ready to do so.

Next was Cranidos. Cranidos was somewhat of a mystery to Ash. She had become a tad larger since Ash caught her, though he wasn't sure whether it was because of the extensive training, the new diet, upcoming evolution, or some weird mix of the above. Maybe even something else entirely. For now, Ash planned mostly on increasing her stats and her endurance to attacks. Well, that and have her finish learning the attacks she was currently in the process of learning, maybe even start her on a couple of others. Her training would be relatively straight-forward.

Bulbasaur would need lots of battle training alongside Ash along with everything else he needed to train in. Bulbasaur had so far been great at following orders and executing combos, as well as being in-sync with Ash in general. The main move Ash wants Bulbasaur to learn is Dig, so he can have at least one move that's strong against electric types, amongst others. Ash also planned on Bulbasaur learning Sunny Day so he can take full advantage of Synthesis, as well as learn Solar Beam more easily. Maybe Ash would even try to teach Bulbasaur Light screen to weaken Surge's electric attacks since most of the strong electric attacks were special and not physical.

"The beach!" Misty exclaimed, shaking Ash out of his planning as she broke out into a sprint, dragging Brock and Ash by the hands. Just minutes later most of the Pokémon were playing around on the beach, while Ash relaxed in the sun with Charmander, who didn't ever want to touch the water and Bulbasaur who thought the whole thing was childish. Cranidos and Sandshrew were playing around on the sand with Brock's Pokémon while Misty's Pokémon along with Pikachu, Fearow, and Squirtle played in the water. Suddenly Ash yelped loudly and everybody turned to see a Krabby scurrying away from Ash, who was clutching his hand tightly. Before anybody could react the Krabby scurried into Ash's backpack and soon after a Pokeball rolled out of the backpack, before flashing and teleporting away.

"What… what just happened?" Misty muttered, her eyebrows raised in surprise, an expression mirrored by several others. "I… I think I just caught a Krabby?" Ash said, not quite sure himself. That was very unexpected and semi-unwelcome. Ash would have to check in with Professor Oak to discuss this capture. Ash sighed and decided to just think about other things for the moment. The whole group just went back to what they were doing, deciding it's best not to question the weird and crazy stuff that happens to Ash on a daily basis.

After relaxing and playing around on the beach for a couple of hours the gang packed up their stuff and decided to head towards the lighthouse, which was very close by, as they could see the top of the tower in the distance. They strolled quietly along the beach, enjoying the soft breeze and the salty smell of the ocean. Soon enough they were at the large doors of the tower, where Ash used the very convenient, but very out of place doorbell.

"Hello!? Come in!" A voice came from inside the lighthouse. Ash looked at his friends before pushing the door open, the trio walking inside. Inside, the three walked deeper and deeper into the tower until they reached a large laboratory. There, in the middle of the laboratory was a large Kabuto, which made Misty scream and hide behind one of the vats scattered around the lab. "Again with the costumes Bill?" Ash sighed, exasperated over the eccentric professor's antics. Clearly, it wasn't a Kabuto, as it was too large and quite extinct except for a couple dozens, none of which were recorded to be that size. That, and the fact that Bill had a penchant for dressing up like Pokémon made it painfully obvious that this was the professor.

"You know it, Ash! It's good to see you again and all but… could you help me out of the costume? I've been stuck in this thing all day. Whoever designed the zipper this way should get sued. Oh, wait, I designed it. Never mind." Bill said, laughing all the while. Ash rolled his eyes but walked up to the professor and helped him anyway. "It's ok if we stay here for the night, right? Oh, by the way, these are my friends Misty and Brock." Ash commented off-handedly, waving in his traveling partners' general direction while helping Bill out of the Kabuto suit.

"You don't even need to ask Ash. Of course, you can stay. Something really… interesting is happening tonight, I think you'd love to be around when it does. For now, you guys can help yourselves to anything in the kitchen, I have to go for a little while. Oh, Ash feels free to call Professor Oak. For now, I bid you adieu." Bill bowed and darted out of the room. "Well… that was a thing." Ash shrugged and walked over to the video phone and rang Professor Oak.

A minute later the man picked up the phone, the video call connecting and showing both sides to each other. "Hello, Professor!" Ash said, smiling at his "adoptive grandfather". "Ash my boy! It's good to hear from you again. I just recently got your new capture and may I say your Krabby is lovely. We made tea together!" Oak exclaimed, moving over to show Crabby on the table behind him and sure enough, the crab had a teacup in its pincers. "About that professor, Krabby just kind of… caught itself. I'm really not sure what to make out of the situation." Ash said and suddenly the professor gained a gleam in his eye. "I see. Ash, I have a proposition for you." The professor said, now smiling at Ash from across the screen.

"You see, I've quite bonded with Krabby these past few hours. In fact, I feel as though he could be a good friend and companion for me, now that I'm alone more often. It's quite rare I instantly click in this way with a Pokémon. I mean, Gary caught a Krabby himself just recently and if you ask me it's quite the sour Pokémon. So, I'm asking you to trade me for Krabby." Professor Oak explained, all the while smiling at Krabby. "Trade?" Ash asked, tilting his head. Of course, he knew what trades were, and how they worked, though Ash wasn't quite sure what the whole deal was.

"Yes. You see, two weeks ago I received a Pokémon to study as a gift from my good friend professor Elm. However, this Pokémon is quite rowdy and loves battling, and I'm afraid I just can't provide that in my old age. Therefore, I'd like to trade you this Pokémon for Krabby here." The Professor said, sitting back down on his chair. "I see. If you don't mind me asking professor, what species is the Pokémon you are referring to?" Ash asked his interest peaking by the second. Regardless of what the Pokémon was Ash would go through with the trade. The professor and Krabby clearly shared a bond and Ash did feel guilty for leaving his Grandfather behind, even if the man had encouraged it. "But of course. The Pokémon I'm talking about is a Girafarig. A normal and Psychic-type the perfect counter to many ghost types. So, are you interested?" Oak asked and admittedly, Ash was. Very interested in that. Psychic Pokémon are strong, especially if properly trained and Ash had a feeling he'd need some. What's more is that Ash had always liked many of the Pokémon from the Johto region, and Girafarig was one of his favorites when he visited Professor Elm's Ranch with Professor Oak. And, Girafarig also had very few weaknesses type-wise. "Alright, Professor. I agree with the trade." Ash said, smiling when the professor let out a cheer before collecting himself. "Hmm yes, thank you, Ash. I will go set up the transfer. After that, I also have a surprise for you." Oak said and walked off. About two minutes later Oak came back and smiled when suddenly, the transfer machine beside Ash's video phone lit up and a Pokeball appeared. "Professor?" Ash questioned, staring at the man who was smiling gleefully now.

"Surprise!" Oak said, holding up a plaque with Ash's name on it. Ash looked at it, blinked and then gasped in shock. "That's… but how!?" Ash exclaimed, drawing the attention of Brock and Misty, who now followed along with the conversation. "The theory you submitted to the Pokémon Research association before leaving on your journey caught the attention of many professors and researchers, therefore they felt it only right to award you the title of Junior Professor. This means you can officially carry 8 Pokémon with you. This also means that if you pass the test coming up in Celadon you will be able to carry 12 Pokémon with you at a time. Great for training, but also a great responsibility. I have full trust you will be able to do it, Ash." Professor Oak said but Ash barely registered it as he was frozen in shock, unable to speak. Finally, after processing what had just happened for a couple of minutes, Ash shook himself out of it.

He remembered the theory he had sent to the Research Association. It had been somewhat of a collaboration between Ash himself and Professor Sycamore of the Kalos region. The theory was about how certain Pokémon who were previously thought to evolve through training and age, in general, were evolving through the help form the bond between them and their trainers. The Pokémon that were used in the research had been several Riolu, Budew, Chansey, Eevee, and Golbat to name a few, along with their respective trainers. Ash felt he and Sycamore had discovered something great, but he'd still never expected for this to happen. Ash had also recently submitted multiple on-field studies, which probably boosted him to the rank.

"This is amazing! Maybe in a couple of years, I'll be able to get my title! Sure, being a researcher isn't my ultimate goal but it's always been one of my dreams! And now I'll be able to bring more of my friends with me as well, even if I don't manage to pass the test in Celadon!" Oak just smiled and nodded along to what Ash said. Ash then turned towards the Pokeball and pulled out his Pokedex to scan it.

" **Girafarig, the Long Neck Pokémon, Girafarig's rear head also has a brain, but it is small. The rear head attacks in response to smells and sounds. Approaching this Pokémon from behind can cause the rear head to suddenly lash out and bite.**

 **This Girafarig is Female and has the ability, Sap Sipper. Its known moves are: Tackle, Stomp, Odor Sleuth, Confusion, Zen Headbutt, Agility, Crunch, Thunderbolt, Shadow Ball and Psychic Fangs."**

Ash grinned from ear to ear when looking at his newest capture's information and his grin only widened when he looked up Girafarig's potential move set. Yes, she would be a very strong member of his team. "Thank you, professor, for the news and for Girafarig," Ash said, turning to the professor who was playing with Krabby. "No problem Ash, and thank you for Krabby, I already know he will be a lifelong friend for me," Oak said making Krabby cheer and hop around. Ash giggled at the crab's antics and after chatting for a little with the professor he hung up the call.

"So, you have a new Pokémon and a Junior Researcher title," Misty commented, smiling at Ash. "Yeah, this is all so crazy," Ash said, suddenly yawning after it. He felt exhausted after all the excitement of today. "The Junior Researcher title alone would have been amazing. It's one step closer to my goal of becoming a Pokémon expert, in every sense of the word. Trainer, Researcher, Coordinator, these are all things I want to be well versed at. While my main passion has and always will be battling and training I want to experience and learn everything I can about Pokémon." Ash smiled to himself. Many would call him overly ambitious, but Ash preferred to think of himself as a dreamer.

"What's your plan further Ash?" Asked Bill, who wandered back over to the group after a while. "Well, right now we're traveling to Vermillion city, where I'm going to challenge . After this I'm probably going to go after Sabrina, then Koga, then Erika, then Blaine, then Giovanny. I could participate in Kanto's Contest circuit but I want to focus on the League circuit for now, since I want a little more experience first. What about you Bill? I mean, you're always researching something huge." Ash said, making Bill chuckle.

"Oh Ash, you have no idea just how right you are. Currently, I'm studying something that's quite literally huge. You see, a couple of weeks ago I was out on the tower's balcony when I saw this huge shadow out in the water. It was a Pokémon, who was as big as the tower, no, bigger, since it was standing in the ocean below the tower, which is on a cliff it much be at least twice as big as the tower." Bill said, his face twisted into an excited and slightly manic expression as he spoke of his latest discovery.

"That large!? I've never heard of a Pokémon that big, not even a legendary. If what you're saying is true then this might be a whole new species or at least a huge version of an already discovered one." Ash exclaimed, his eyes shining with little stars at the prospect of a new Pokémon species.

"Yup, this could easily be the biggest scientific breakthrough of the century! And today, I'm going to make it appear again. Come with me!" Bill said and suddenly walked off, up the tower stairs. Ash followed quickly after, Brock and Misty following after realizing that this might actually be interesting.

Once at the top Bill turned on this huge stereo machine and suddenly loud Pokémon cry could be heard. "You see, two weeks after seeing this Pokémon it appeared again, and I recorded its cry. Now, two weeks after that, I'm going to use this to lure it here and hopefully see it." Bill said and stared out into the water. The group stared with bated breath until suddenly an answering cry was heard.

A huge shadow could be seen through the mist, approaching the tower. Ash and the gang gasped at seeing this giant Pokémon. It got closer and closer until the gang could almost make out what it was when suddenly a blast was heard as a net-rocket hit the Pokémon, who gave a huge cry and fled as quickly as possible. "What!?" Ash yelled as the giant's steps shook the ground, making the group all stumble. By the time they stood up again the Pokémon was gone.

"It's gone… It will probably never come back here again after being attacked like that. Who could have done such a thing?" Bill asked, distraught that his potentially biggest discovery was ruined.

"I don't know, but I doubt they stuck around. Thankfully it looks like they weren't prepared to catch such a big Pokémon, judging by the small size of the net so whatever it was it should be just fine." Ash said, relieved that the Pokémon would at least be safe. Bill nodded his head slightly, though he was still crushed. "Well, it's late anyway. Good night you guys, Ash can show you the guest wing." Bill said and walked off dejectedly. The gang looked to each other in concern and sighed sadly.

-The next day-

The gang stood in front of the tower and looked at Bill, who looked at least a bit better. "Are you sure you're going to be ok Bill? I can stay a couple more days if you need somebody here." Ash said. Bill smiled at him slightly.

"That's not necessary. I know how much you're looking forward to your Gym battle. Besides, I'm going to be fine. Probably going to pour my soul into another project. Who knows, maybe one day I'll meet the giant Pokémon again." Bill said and grinned at Ash, who sighed in relief and smiled back.

"Well, I'll be seeing you, Bill. Goodbye!" Ash said and the gang walked off towards Vermillion.

-Two days later-

The gang finally made it to Vermillion, where they headed to the Pokémon center, which was half full. The Nurse Joy there explained that was always sending his opponents here and that there were so many who came all the time after losing to him that the center was almost constantly full. Ash and the gang felt a bit bad but asked Joy to check over their Pokémon. Thankfully she was happy since she finally got to treat healthy Pokémon. Ash knew that this would be a difficult battle, so as usual, he would spend two weeks training.

The training, as always, really paid off. The ones who showed the most progress were Sandshrew and Cranidos. Cranidos was now even larger and was looking better than ever. The small dino had managed to learn Thunderbolt and had nearly perfected the move, as well as perfecting the rest of her moves. She had grown leaps and bounds in terms of speed and especially in power. She could easily tear up a field with a single move now. Ash was really proud f her.

He was also really proud of Sandshrew, or should he say Sandslash. About a week into training the shrew evolved and was better than ever. When the shrew evolved it learned Crush Claw, as well as learning X-Scissor and Protect during the two weeks. Even though Sandslash was now slightly slower but a lot more powerful with a mean Rollout.

Pikachu had mostly worked on his speed, though the mouse was now working on learning Thunder, and was making decent progress. Fearow had also mostly worked on upping his stats, but also learned Round, and was working on Echoed Voice. Pidgeotto learned Mirror Move with the help of Fearow while also training her stats.

Butterfree was working on his psychic powers and his control of his powder moves, some of which he also taught Bulbasaur, who learned Poison Powder, Sleep Powder and even Toxic as well as Dig which Ash had already planned for. Combee was merely working on her stats since there were no more moves she could learn as a Combee. Though she did grow quite a bit.

Charmander grew as well, growing more confident in battling, as he was still smarting from Damien's treatment of him. The little lizard now had much more control over his fire attacks and control over his other attacks. He was also currently learning Dragon Rage. Squirtle was also growing, and getting more accustomed to Ash and following a trainer's orders. The little turtle had also learned Water Pulse and Protect. Girafarig didn't learn any new moves since the giraffe Pokémon was mostly getting used to battling with Ash, but he could tell she was very strong and was going to be amazing in the future.

Now he stood in front of the Vermillion Gym, ready for battle. Walking in Ash took a deep breath and exhaled. "Well, well, well what's this? Another pipsqueak for me to pummel." A deep voice rang out. Ash turned to the right and saw Surge accompanied by two of his goons. "My name is Ash Ketchum and I'm here to challenge you to a Gym battle!" Ash called out to the large muscled man, glaring at him slightly.

"Oh? I hadn't figured. Well, pipsqueak get ready to lose. You and your puny Pokémon will be crushed under the might of my Electric Pokémon! I'll shock you into surrender!" The military man said before walking to the other side of the battlefield. The referee rushed to his spot and raised his two flags. "This will be a three on three battle between and the challenger Ash Ketchum. Only the challenger may switch Pokémon. Begin!" He said and dropped the flags.

"Voltorb, Crush 'em!" said as he threw out his Pokeball, releasing a Voltorb, who buzzed with electricity. "Sandslash, battle dance!" Ash said, sending out Sandslash who batted his claws together. "Well, go ahead pipsqueak." Surge said, making Ash growl. "Sandslash, show his who we are, Stealth Rock, then Dig into Crush Scissor!" Ash called out, wanting to show Surge that he wasn't to be messed with.

Sandslash focused and suddenly stones raised from the ground and floated above Surge's side of the field before turning invisible. Then Sandslash dived underground and burrowed towards Voltorb quickly. "Voltorb, dodge!" Surge said, realizing that this kid wasn't his typical challenger. Sadly, he realized this too late and Sandslash dug out of the ground and sent Voltorb flying with the Dig, flying after him as well, where Sandslash delivered a powerful Crush Scissor, which is a combo of Crush Claw and X-Scissor Ash developed after seeing how similar the moves were. Sandlash hit Voltorb and with the power of the move the Voltorb was slammed into the ground, fainted. Surge and the other onlookers stood by shocked at this.

"Well, that certainly was unexpected. I shouldn't have underestimated you, be certain that won't happen again. Magnemite, Sonic Boom!" Surge said, sending out his next Pokemon. The flying magnet quickly launched crescent moon shaped projectiles toward the shrew, who tried to block with his claws and was pushed back a bit. The magnet was then hit by the Stealth Rocks. "Answer him with Magnitude!" Ash called out. Sandslash slammed the ground and came out with a Magnitude 8, which slammed into Magnemite, dealing extremely effective damage. "Magnemite, Magnet Bomb!" Surge called out and Magnemite rushed to follow, sending several metal projectiles at Sandslash, who managed to dodge most of them, although was hurt by a few.

"Crush Scissor!" Ash called out. "Flash Cannon!" Surge called out his own attack. Sandslash rushed forward, trying to reach Magnemite before it could do anything. Just as the magnet was about to release its attack Sandslash jumped up and slammed it down with the combo move, knocking the magnet Pokémon out. "Well done pipsqueak, you managed to knock out two of my Pokémon with only one of yours getting hurt. This next one won't be as easy though! Raichu, your turn!" Surge sent out his last Pokémon, a powerful looking Raichu.

"Raichu, Iron Tail!" Surge called out and before Sandslash could react it was slammed into the wall by a powerful Iron Tail, getting knocked out. "Sandslash!" Ash called out in panic and quickly returned the ground type. Ash turned back to the field to see Surge and Raichu smirking. Ash growled and readied his next Pokémon when the Raichu was hit by the Stealth Rocks, making ash giggle before sending out his next battler. "Cranidos, battle dance!" Ash sent out his Fossil Pokémon. "Alright Cranidos, use Rock Polish and Focus Energy!" Ash called out, hoping to get to set up a bit. Cranidos followed through and did the two moves, even doing Rock Polish twice, before Raichu rushed towards Cranidos with an Iron Tail. Cranidos dodged just barely, making Raichu hit the ground and bring up a dust cloud.

"Use Iron Tail too, then use Headbutt!" Ash called out. Cranidos rushed off into the dust cloud, smashing Raichu away with its tail before hitting it with a headbutt before it could land. "Awesome! Follow up with Stone Edge!" Ash called out.

"Oh no, you don't, Raichu dodge and use Brick Break." Raichu kept dodging and dodging the rocks that flew at him while powering up his move. When he reached Cranidos instead of hitting the dino he jumped behind and then slammed it down with a Brick Break to the back. "Oh no!" Ash called out in worry. "Now use Iron Tail!" Surge called out. Raichu smirked and hit Cranidos with an Iron Tail, hearing the dino Pokémon cry out in pain before walking off. The referee was about to call the round when suddenly a glow emanated from Cranidos as it stood shakily.

"It's evolving…" Surge growled out, glaring at the Cranidos' growing form. Suddenly the light burst away and in Cranidos' place was a huge Rampardos, who roared out in anger, stomping its leg on the ground. Ash took his Pokedex out and scanned his new Pokémon.

 **"Rampardos, the Head Butt Pokémon. Its strength lies within its fierce head-butting attacks. A charging Rampardos can knock down virtually anything with one hit. 100 million years ago, it lived in jungles, where it tore down jungle trees while catching prey. It enjoys barging into objects with its head to train its strength and reflexes. This resulted in its skull becoming harder than steel and a foot thick, which prevents it from fainting if it crashes into anything, even another charging Rampardos. Upon evolving this Pokémon learned Flamethrower and Zen Headbutt."** The Pokedex said. Ash smirked, while inwardly heaving out a sigh of relief.

"Well done Rampardos, now, put that new power to use, use Zen Headbutt and then Flamethrower!" Ash called out. Rampardos charged without question and slammed into Raichu with the strong Psychic move, which was powered up by Sheer Force and then when Raichu flew off Rampardos sent out a Flamethrower at the mouse, who cried out in pain. Rampardos held the Flamethrower a while before releasing it. There was Raichu, laying down, fainted.

"Raichu is knocked out. The victory goes to the challenger!" The referee said, raiding the flag in Ash's direction. Ash smiled and cheered, running over and hugging Rampardos while being mindful of its spikes. "You did it Rampardos! Thank you!" Ash said, petting the newly evolved Pokémon while it rumbled happily.

"Congrats pipsqueak." Surge said while walking up to Ash. "For managing to beat me in battle you've won the Thunder Badge." Surge said while handing the badge to Ash who put it on the inside of his vest. Then Surge smirked down at him. "You know, it's been a while since I had a good battle like that. Thank you. Here, have this as a reward as well." Surge said while handing Ash a Thunder Stone. "Use it on that Pikachu of yours when the time is right." Surge said and walked off. Ash smiled. He had won his third gym.


	5. Chapter 5

Ash and the gang were walking along the docks of Vermillion when they saw a group of people crowded around a booth. There, two women in blue outfits were sitting next to a raffle. Ash and the gang walked over to the booth and asked one of the people in line what the booth was for.

"You don't know? You can enter a raffle in order to win three tickets for the S.S. Anne! Oh, I hope I win!" The girl they asked said before turning back to the booth. The gang decided it wouldn't hurt to try to win the raffle. After a while, they heard the disappointed groan of the girl they talked to earlier as she lost and walked off. They walked up to the booth and Ash gave the raffle a spin, gasping as a golden ball fell out.

"Congratulations, you win!" One of the girls at the booth said before putting the ball back inside the raffle.

"Oh my gosh! We win a cruise trip! On the S.S Anne no less! This is a dream come true Ash!" Misty said Ash she jumped up and down in joy along with Ash, who was speechless. Brock watched the two with a smile, only jumping inwardly.

They looked at the tickets, "It looks like the cruise is today at 4. That's in three hours. We can go get our things from the Pokémon center and come back then board early." Brock said, and the group headed off.

Later, the trio stood in front of the giant cruise ship. They showed the two guards their tickets and were allowed to pass and walk on board. There, they were greeted by an extravagant foyer. The three decided to split up and explore and meet up back in the foyer after three hours before walking to the battle ballroom.

Ash spent his time walking around the shops, buying a few interesting books on Pokémon anatomy, Pokémon training, breeding, and some battle and contest tip books. He also managed to remove a scammer who was trying to sell Magikarp to people overpriced and was also abusing the fish Pokémon, ensuring the Pokémon were released out to sea. He also bought some evolutionary stones and items, as well as some other useful things and Pokeballs.

Misty was sightseeing around the cruise, though she was mostly on the main deck gazing out towards the sea, dreaming of water types. She also went to a water show and went to the buffet afterward.

Brock mostly went to the Pokémon Breeding shops, getting books on breeding as well as Medicine. He also went to a Breeding Showcase, where he was many pretty Pokémon, including a stunning Milotic. One interesting thing Brock did was get a Metal Coat and give it to Onix, who Brock then traded and traded back with somebody who had a Kadabra, triggering both Pokémon's evolutions.

After the three hours were up the three met up with each other and talk about the things they had done. "Wow, I can't believe people like that merchant exist," Brock said.

"I know right? By the way, you guys should try this cheesecake, it's amazing!" Misty said, handing Ash a plate with a cake slice on it. He took it and took a bite.

"Oh wow! This is almost as good as moms! By the way, congrats on Onix evolving Brock!" Ash said, turning to Brock and handing him the plate. Brock also took a bite.

"Hmm, could use some Pecha berries. And yes, I'm lucky to have found a Metal Coat here! Steelix is ecstatic about it too." Brock said.

"Well, should we head to the battle ballroom?" Ash said and the other two nodded. Together they walked to the ballroom when suddenly the boat shook, making them stumble a bit.

"What was that?" Ash asked when suddenly they heard screams from the ballroom. The gang ran in and saw Team Rocket attacking the trainers and trying to steal their Pokémon. Ash gasped and jumped into action.

"Everybody! Send out your Pokémon and fight back, there are more of us than there are of them!" Ash yelled out while sending out all eight of his Pokémon, which all attacked. Brock and Misty followed suit, as did the rest of the trainers.

The fight went on and on, and the Trainers were mostly on the winning side, as the Rocket grunts were pushed back more and more by all the Pokémon. Suddenly the boat shook again, and one of the crew went in and yelled

"There was an explosion caused by Team Rocket! The boat is sinking!" Everybody ran to the sides towards the lifeboats, while the Rocket Grunts escaped through their own boat. The trainers clambered on to the lifeboats along with the crew and captain, and the lifeboats slowly drove away as everybody watched the boat sink in the distance.

"Thank Arceus we got out in time," Misty said, her throat going dry from the thought. "I know, I don't want to think what would have happened had we stayed on the boat, " Ash said, trembling slightly. Somebody put a hand on his shoulder and Ash turned to see the captain.

"It's ok young man, everybody made it out unharmed. It's a shame about the boat though, a real beauty she was. That Team Rocket has gone too far." The captain growled slightly before sighing and calming down a bit before focusing on Ash again.

"We're going to stop at Porta Vista before going to Vermillion. Most people here are going back to Vermillion but you're welcome to go off at Porta Vista if you want." The captain said. Ash breathed out in relief, really wanting to get back on land and to call his mom. He nodded and smiled to the captain, who returned the smile before walking off to comfort other traumatized trainers.

About half an hour later the boat made it to Porta Vista and Ash couldn't get have gotten out faster as he was off the moment they docked. Only Ash, Misty, Brock, and five others got off at Porta Vista, and the boat was off towards Vermillion. Ash and the gang walked off towards the Pokémon center to call their loved ones and get a good rest after the traumatic events of the day. Ash never thought his mom would stop crying but surprisingly she did, only to go on a rampage which had Nurse Joy gasping at the profanity of it when Ash's mom ranted about Team Rocket. At the end of it all, he collapsed in bed, groaning from how tired he saw, only barely managing to send out his team so they could stretch out a bit during the night. He smiled as they all cuddled up to him or next to him in one-way shape or form before drifting off to sleep.

The next day the gang spent the day mostly relaxing, walking around and watching a beauty contest. The day after though was much more interesting. You see, the gang was walking on the docks when suddenly an explosion went off. The group stared off at the water in the distance. "What could have happened?" Ash wondered out loud.

"I don't know bu-" Misty was interrupted when something sprayed water in her face. The group looked down to see two Horsea in the water trying to get their attention. One was blue, while the other was more turquoise. They were both clearly bruised though and were drawing ink pictures in the water. It was a picture of a boat and a Tentacool.

"Tentacool attacked a boat in the water? Why would they do that?" Ash asked. Misty nodded. "Yeah, Tentacool are nice Pokémon, who would such beautiful, innocent water types attack somebody like that?" Misty asked, making Brock sweatdrop.

"Those nasty Tentacool have been messing with my ships for a while now! Nasty insects!" A harsh voice came from behind them. The gang turned to see a short old woman surrounded by a group of harem boys in speedos. She was worn down, with crimpled red hair and looked like a leather sofa. Her voice was that of somebody who had smoked for 50 years straight.

"I'm Nastina, and I'm building a resort out there in the water, but those Tentacool keep messing things up. So, I'm paying trainers to exterminate them. How about it?" The ugly crone asked.

"No thanks, goodbye now." Ash waved her off and turned around. "Wha- don't ignore me!" She shouted, gaining a tick mark on her forehead.

Ash turned to her again with a dead stare. "No." He said and turned again.

"The nerve! Whatever! You're probably weak anyway. Boys, carry me away!" She ordered, getting a "Yes, Miss Nastina," in a chorus as an answer as they picked her up on a throne and carried her off.

"Ash?" Brock asked and then looked down to notice Ash's fists clenched. "Disgusting, wanting to exterminate Pokémon as if they were household pests. She's probably building on their home or something. I hope she never gets to make that hotel of hers." He growled out and the others just nodded.

"Horsea!" The Pokémon bellow called out and Ash looked down to see a picture of him and Misty in the water, as well as a Pokeball. "You want us to catch you?" Ash asked and the two seahorses nodded, the normal one staring at Misty while the shiny stared at Ash.

"It's not every day a shiny Pokémon asks you to catch them." Brock joked as the two threw Lure Balls at the Horsea, catching the Pokémon easily. Ash's ball teleported to Professor Oak while Misty's flew back up to her.

"We should go to the Pokémon Center to get the Horsea checked out. I just need to get mine from the Professor." Ash said and they headed back. After getting Horsea in exchange for Fearow (Though this took a while since the Professor was so happy to have gotten to see another shiny Pokémon) and dropping it off with Nurse Joy the gang relaxed a bit.

Suddenly, the Pokémon Center doors opened and Officer Jenny ran in, an alarm blaring in the distance. "The town is being attacked by a giant Tentacruel and some other Tentacruel and Tentacool! Evacuate immediately!" Officer Jenny announced making Nurse Joy gasp and turn on the Pokémon Center alarm.

"Any trainers able to help push back the attack are welcome to do so, but be advised that this may be dangerous!" Jenny said and turned, running out of the Center. "Well, I guess that's our cue. We should at least be able to take out a couple batches of Tentacool and Tentacruel. Let's go!" Ash said and together with Misty and Brock exited the Pokémon Center. Outside he could see a bit of Smoke and rubble, as well as the giant Tentacruel on the other side of Porta Vista.

"We should head to the docks and push back the invading Pokémon until we figure out how to stop this!" Ash said and they ran to the docks, where they unleashed their Pokémon, though Brock held back his Geodude so it wouldn't get hurt.

"Bulbasaur, launch Leaf Storms at the Tentacool! Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on them. Squirtle, launch Water Pulses at them but be ready to jump in front of somebody and use Protect. Girafarig, use Thunderbolt as well. Rampardos you do that as well. Sandslash set up a Stealth Rock and hang back with protect!" Ash said, not having called out Charmander. He then called out Horsea to see what it could do to help. He took out his Pokedex and scanned the seahorse.

 **"Horsea, the Dragon Pokemon, it is highly adept in the water, using its dorsal fin to swim in any direction while facing forward. It can use its tail as both a balance and an anchor when caught in a strong current. In safer environments, it uses its tail to play with other members of its species. If Horsea senses danger, it sprays water or dense black ink from its mouth at its attacker. It can shoot ink more precisely at insects flying above the surface of the water.**

 **This Horsea is Female and has the ability Sniper. Please note that this Horsea is a shiny Pokémon. Its known moves are: Water Gun, Bubble Beam, Smokescreen, Agility, Twister, Hidden Power and Attract."** Ash smiled.

"Horsea, go ahead and use Hidden Power!" Ash commanded and Horsea followed through, and as it turns out Horsea had Hidden Power Electric. "Nice! Alright, Horsea continue with that!" Ash said and the battle commenced. The Tentacool kept coming and coming, seemingly never-ending. The gang's Pokemon had defeated a good 200 of them but after a while, they grew tired and fatigued, and most of them were taken out by the odd Tentacruel. Soon, only Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Oddish, Goldeen and Golbat were remaining.

"This isn't good… we need to figure out something!" Ash said, looking down in thought. "Ash look out!" Misty yelled and Ash looked up to see an incoming attack from a Tentacruel. Suddenly, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Goldeen, and Oddish were all in front of him and shielded him from the attack. They all started glowing, blinding the incoming Tentacool for a short while, until in their place stood an Ivysaur, Wartortle, Seaking, and Gloom.

"You all evolved!" Ash called out happily. "Well it's no wonder, they have been fighting back hundreds of Tentacool," Brock grumbled out. Ash giggled and nodded at that, before turning to his two newly evolved starters, ready to scan them.

 **"Wartortle, the Turtle Pokemon, to maintain balance while swimming at high speeds, Wartortle moves its furry ears and tail. It can use the fur to store air for extended underwater diving. Its tail is a popular symbol of longevity, making it popular with the elderly. It hides in water when hunting and emerges to surprise its prey.**

 **Upon evolving, Wartortle has learned Aqua Tail and Skull Bash"**

 **"Ivysaur, the Seed Pokémon, the bulb on its back absorbs nourishment and blooms into a large flower. When its flower is ready to bloom, it gives off a distinct, strong sweet-smelling aroma and starts swelling. Ivysaur will also start spending more time in sunlight in preparation for its upcoming evolution. Exposure to sunlight adds to the strength of both Ivysaur and its plant.**

 **Upon evolving, Ivysaur has learned Sunny Day and Solar Beam."**

"That's great you guys! But… I don't think this will be enough to stop them. We have to find out a way to get through to them… maybe if we spoke to their leader. I guess that would be the giant Tentacruel… Misty! We need to get to the Giant Tentacruel, come with me to the tower. Brock, you help evacuate!" Ash said and ran off, Misty scrambling to follow.

Not even fifteen minutes later and Misty were standing on top of a large radio tower, staring face to face with the giant Tentacruel, who had just spotted them. "You have to stop! Please, We're begging you!" Ash shouted out. The Tentacruel lifted up a Meowth with a Tentacool on its head and suddenly Meowth spoke.

"You humans took our homes, killed our young. You deserve the same fate." It spoke, making Ash clench his hands slightly.

"Please listen Tentacruel, this is enough! Humans understand that we've hurt you! We won't destroy your homes anymore! We're sorry, so please!" Misty called out, making the Tentacruel stop up for a bit, and that's when Ash took his chance. Out of his pocket came a leaf, which he pressed up to his lips and started playing Oracion. Everything stopped, and it was as if everybody focused on Ash. The Tentacool stopped invading and turned towards the source of the soothing song, which carried through the whole town as if by magic.

As the song came to an end it was deathly quiet on the streets of Porta Vista. "Tentacruel, I implore you, please. I know you aren't an evil Pokémon. I know you don't truly want to harm people, to kill them. I know you are only defending your home. I swear you won't be disturbed again. Humans aren't all like that woman who is building there. Some of us may be bad, but there are many people, and the majority would be appalled if they only knew how you were treated. When she asked for us to attack you so she could build her hotel, we refused. There were likely many who refused. We never meant to harm you… please." Ash talked to the giant Pokémon earnestly, his voice getting raw and rough and torn at the end.

The silence remained everybody, waiting with bated breath to see what Tentacruel's next move will be. "Very well. We shall go back to the sea. However, should this happen again we will not be this merciful. Consider yourself lucky." Meowth said before suddenly the Tentacool dislodged from Meowth's head and the giant Tentacruel threw Meowth away, turning around to go back to the sea. Suddenly a bazooka was fired off at the Tentacruel. Ash gasped as he saw Nastina and another woman who looked just like her on top of a giant tank firing at Tentacruel. "That hag! What is she doing! It could go on a rampage again!" Ash yelled, truly angry at the two women.

Thankfully, another rampage did not occur. Rather, Tentacruel batted the two women away and crushed the tank, before finally returning to the ocean. Almost the whole city breathed a sigh of relief.

Later, when Ash and Misty were back on the ground a man in a suit walked up to them. "Hello, are you Ash Ketchum and Misty Waterflower?" The man asked.

"Yes...?" Ash asked warily.

"I am Alan Smith, agent of the Pokémon League. We got an alert from Officer Jenny and got here as quick as we could, but you had already stopped Tentacruel's assault before we could get here. I want to thank you on behalf of the Pokémon League, and the entire Kanto region. Your quick thinking could very well have saved the town." The man said, making Ash laugh uncomfortably and rub the back of his head sheepishly.

"Due to this, the League has decided to reward you both. You have each received 300,000 pokedollars in your accounts as well as an additional reward. Ash Ketchum, you have had your Pokémon carry limit increased to 10. Misty Waterflower, since you, as a partial Gym Leader do not have a carry limit we have instead given a grant to the Cerulean Gym, which should be enough to improve the Gym greatly. Again, we from the League thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Now, I must get back to helping with reparations." The man said before walking off, leaving the two trainers stunned.

"… Misty?" Ash murmured.

"Yes, Ash?" Misty asked, just as quietly.

"You do realize you're going to have to call your sisters to make sure they don't spend the whole grant on water shows," Ash said.

"I know," Misty answered, and the two burst into laughter.

-One Week Later-

"You know, sometimes I regret traveling with you. This is one of those times." Misty said as she stared at the large tower in front of her. The gang was currently in Lavender town, in front of the Ghost Tower, so that Ash could catch a Ghost-type.

"Naw, you know you love me," Ash said cheekily before pulling the other two inside, sending out his Girafarig for protection. Misty and Brock followed his lead and sent out Gloom and Zubat respectively. The trio traversed the tower slowly, looking around for Ghost Pokémon, though the Tower was mostly just filled with Gastly.

"You know, one of those could be useful. Zubat, use Bite on the next one that pops up." Brock said, and not even five minutes later another Gastly came out through a wall. Zubat jumped into action and used the super-effective move, getting the jump on the Gastly. It, however, did not appreciate this and fired back with a Night Shade. Zubat was pushed back a little and gave off a noise of dissatisfaction. It then charged again at the Gastly, using Bite twice more, knocking the gas ball out. Brock then proceeded to throw a Pokeball at the Gastly, capturing it effortlessly.

"Congrats Brock! Now all that's left is for me to get a Ghost-type. Too bad there isn't anything else arou-" Ash suddenly tripped and faceplanted on the ground. He picked himself up with a groan and rubbed at his face a bit. Looking around he couldn't see what was the cause.

"Haha, very funny you guys. Thanks for tripping me." Ash murmured, still hurting a bit.

"Erm, Ash…" He heard Misty say, but just continued to rub at his face.

"Yeah yeah Misty, you got me. Bigg whoop. " Ash said.

"Ash…" This time it was Brock.

"Not you too Brock. Look, I just want to catch a ghost type and go, there was no need to rip me." Ash said.

"ASH!" Misty screeched.

"What!?" Ash said, finally looking up, only to see a large, moving chandelier coming towards him.

"Girafarig, Zen Headbutt!" Ash said quickly and the giraffe jumped to his defense, charging at the chandelier, but merely phasing through it and Crashing into the thing behind it, a Pokémon. The chandelier dissipated from sight. Ash and the gang stared up ahead of them, where Girafarig was facing off against a small candle, who was currently glaring at the giraffe Pokémon.

"That's a Litwick! It's my lucky day!" Ash said excitedly before getting serious. "Girafarig, Odor Sleuth into Stomp, then use Crunch!" The Giraffe first sniffed the air, gathering energy in order to be able to hit the Ghost-type with its Normal-type moves. After identifying the Ghost-type Griafarig charged, hitting Litwick with a Stomp, doing a good chunk of damage, though it was the Crunch that really hurt. The little candle stood no chance against the super-effective move, as it fell down. Ash smiled and threw a Luxury Ball at the downed Litwick.

Ding, Ding….Ding!

"Yes! Alright, another teammate! Let's see what Litwick's deal is." Ash said, busting out his Pokedex to scan the little Candle. "Litwick pretends to guide people and Pokémon around by illuminating darkened areas. However, it is actually sucking away their life energy and leading them to the Ghost World. They feed off the life energy of people and Pokémon and use it as fuel for the flames on their heads.

This Litwick is Male and has the ability Flame Body. Its known moves are Flame Burst, Will-O-Wisp, Night Shade, Minimize, Taunt and Shock Wave."

"This is great! My own ghost type! Now I have another Pokémon ho can take on Sabrina." Ash said, smiling down at the Luxury ball. The gang finally made their way out of the Ghost Tower and headed towards Saffron City, the next stop towards Ash's dream of being a Pokémon Master.

-Three Weeks Later-

The gang had finally made it to Saffron about two weeks ago. Now Ash stood in front of the Saffron Gym ready for a challenge. His Pokémon had done their usual two weeks of training.

Pikachu had spent most of his time training in speed and power since that is what he specializes in. The small mouse was even better than ever, being as fast as he was with the Agility boost a couple of weeks prior. The small mouse had also finally managed to perfect Thunder and added the move to his repertoire, and was currently practicing his accuracy with it.

Fearow and Pidgeotto mostly trained on their resistances, being target practice for Pikachu as well as Brock's Rock types. The duo also managed to learn U-turn during their flying maneuver practice, often using that to dodge Pikachu's Thunder at the last moment.

Butterfree practiced a lot during his stay at Oak's ranch as well as during the two weeks of training. The butterfly mostly practiced on his moves, since that was the thing he and Ash wanted to prioritize for the time being. This is because Butterfree has the potential for a ginormous move set, something that would make him quite effective in combat. The butterfly now also knew Silver Wind and Psybeam. He was also working on Quiver Dance and Supersonic.

Rampardos was working on gaining total control and grace in her new form, as well as regaining her speed that she had as a Cranidos since the evolution had made her heavier and bulkier. She was nearly back to the speed she had been at before, something which made her and Ash very happy.

Sandslash was also working similarly on his speed, however, he had already made much more progress, and was already past where he was before evolving. He was also working a little on his moves, having learned Gyro Ball during his training.

Combee was getting close to evolving from what Ash could tell. The small bee was growing larger and the three heads were working more in tandem, signifying their soon-to-come merger. The bee had also learned Bugg Buzz.

Ivysaur had worked on learning Venoshock since he already knew Toxic. This was done in tandem with his speed training since Ivysaur was currently quite a stationary fighter. He now knew how to hit accurately even when running and while being up in the air.

Charmander was now quite a bit more confident and was working on his speed and attack power, as well as general control. The lizard had grown in leaps and bounds, and Ash was sure he would be ready for Erika when Ash challenges her. Charmander had also finally learned Dragon Rage.

Wartortle was finally fully comfortable with Ash, and the two were a scary duo in battle, now just as in-sync as Ash and Pikachu and Ivysaur. The turtle also finally understood the point of non-attacking moves and their usefulness, learning both Iron Defense and Rain Dance, so that he could finally utilize his Rain Dish ability.

Ash was still getting used to Girafarig. It was a great battler, yes, and he followed Ash's commands easily but still… Ash didn't know how to go about things. Girafarig wasn't his capture, and thus they didn't have a huge bond, that is, they didn't before. Now the two was as close as could be since Ash spent a large part of his time bonding with both Girafarig and Litwick. Girafarig was also great at learning and learned Take Down, Psybeam and Return, which he learned thanks to his bond with Ash.

Speaking of Litwick, the small candle was quite the prankster and was a hyper little thing. This was positive, but Ash thought it would be wise for Litwick to be a touch calmer during battle, so he taught Litwick Calm Mind, to fix the hyperactive as well as give Litwick a power boost, which he could also utilize much better with his new move Shadow Ball.

Finally, Horsea was learning how to fight on land, which would come in use when she became a Kingdra since they could utilize their draconic energy to float on land. The small seahorse could now bounce around and fight at least at a decent level on land, though she was vastly more powerful in the water, where she was most at home.

Walking into the Saffron Gym Ash looked around to the multitude of psychics training their powers. Walking through the halls he finally came upon the battlefield, where Sabrina waited for him on a chair, a small girl in her lap. Ash walked up to the challenger side and cleared his throat. "Hello, I'm Ash Ketchum, I would like to challenge you to a Gym battle." He said.

The small doll giggled. "Sure, but if we win, you'll have to stay and play with us, forever!" She said and threw the Pokeball she was holding, releasing a Kadabra.

"Erm, sure…? Litwick, battle dance!" Ash said, calling out the small candle. "Use Minimize, then Calm Mind. Proceed into Taunt Wisp!" Ash said, and Litwick launched into action. First, the small candle got three times smaller, making it harder to hit before using Calm Mind, making it less erratic. Then it used Will-O-Wisp on Kadabra, combining it with Taunt, which both burned and enraged Kadabra, who launched himself at Litwick and used Psycho cut on the small candle, sending it flying back at Ash. Liwtick caught itself at the last moment and stood there, glaring at Kadabra.

"You're mean! Kadabra, Psybeam!" The little girl called out angrily. Ash's eyes widened as he saw Kadabra point its spoon at Litwick. "Dodge, then use Shadow Ball!" Ash said. Litwick jumped over the Psybeam and launched a Shadow Ball at Kadabra, which hit it in the face.

"How rude! Kadabra, Foul Play!" The little girl called out and Kadabra launched at Litwick. "Shoot! Litwick use Shadow Ball to stop him!" Litwick started charging another Shadow Ball, but he was much too late as Kadabra was already there. Litwick launched Shadow Ball prematurely as Kadabra hit him with Foul Play, making them both fly back due to the respective attacks. Due to this, they had both fainted.

"Nice job Litwick, take a good rest!" Ash said, returning the candle Pokémon as the little girl did the same with Kadabra. She then released her next Pokémon, a Mr. Mime. "Go Combee, Battle Dance!" Ash said, calling out Combee, who was ready for combat and for her surprise.

"Sweet Scent, then blow it at with Gust. When he's distracted set up a Tailwind!" Ash called out. Combee released the sweet smelling scent before blowing it at Mr. Mime, who became dazed and woozy because of it. Combee then used Tailwind, becoming much quicker.

"Snap out of it, hit those meanies with a Shadow Ball! Don't stop!" The little girl called out and started throwing Shadow Ball after Shadow Ball at Combee, who dodged every single one, until one clipped her wing, causing her to plummet, and giving Mr. Mime an opening to hit the next one perfectly. Combee was thrown back and landed on the ground, trying to pick herself up with herself wings when she decided that now was as good of a time as any, and started glowing.

She grew and grew, changing shape until finally she stopped glowing and in her place there stood a regal looking Vespiquen. Ash cheered and proceed to scan her.

 **"Vespiquen, the Beehive Pokémon. A Vespiquen is far more powerful than its followers, and will only take action if its Combee are unable to protect the hive. If outsiders prove themselves to it by defending its hive, it may repay these acts of kindness with a reward. It feeds on flowers to make honey.**

 **Upon evolving, Vespiquen learned Attack Order, Defense Order, Heal Order, Slash and Air Slash."** Ash stared at the information in wonder, as this had been the biggest progress a Pokemon of his had made upon evolving. "Nice! Vespiquen, use Heal Order and Attack Order!" Vespiquen nodded and her eyes started to glow. A swarm of bees came to her and tended her wounds before flying off at Mr. Mime, stinging the clown into next century for hurting their queen.

"Now, Bug Buzz!" Ash ordered. Vespiquen started to buzz her wings, creating wave after wave of this harsh screeching noise that flew at Mr. Mime, knocking out the clown Pokémon. The little girl scowled and returned Mr. Mime.

"That's it! Alakazam, show these meanies who's boss! Use, Psychic!" Alakazam's eyes began to glow and Vespiquen was caught in his Psychic grasp. That, however, didn't mean she couldn't do anything, and she ordered her bees to attack the opponent. Alakazam thrashed Vespiquen around while getting stung and stung and stung until finally he couldn't take anymore and turned his attention on the bees, crushing them with Psychic.

"Quick, while it's distracted use Buzz Order!" Ash called out. Vespiquen gathered the general meaning behind the combo and flew high up in the air, starting to buzz while a swarm of bees came out behind her, riding the Bug Buzz waves in order to slam into Alakazam, who was pelted with hundreds of bees. Alakazam struggled a bit but eventually managed to crush all the bees and he stood there, hurt and panting. He looked around but couldn't see Vespiquen.

"Look out!" Sabrina called out, not the doll, but Sabrina, who had jumped to her feet, the doll fading from existence. Sabrina, concerned for her starter Pokemon jumped in front of Alakazam's back. Alakazam turned to see Vespiquen flying at them with a Slash attack. Her eyes widened since she wasn't able to break so quickly in this new form. Alakazam quickly gripped Sabrina and Teleported out of the way. Sabrina looked up at Alakazam, recognition finally in her eyes after so long.

"You saved me," Sabrina said. Alakazam nodded and smiled at her. After so long she could finally think clearly, the Psychic power's influence on her no longer present. She turned to Ash, who stood there watching the scene in confusion along with Vespiquen. "I forfeit," Sabrina said, making Ash's jaw drop.

"What? Why?" Ash questioned, staring at her in confusion along with Vespiquen.

"You have saved me from the Psychic trance I have been in for so long. You are worthy of the Marsh Badge." Sabrina said, and suddenly the badge flew over to Ash, who grabbed it and looked at it strangely. "Now, if you excuse me I have to help my mother get out of my doll town prison," Sabrina said before walking off.

"Oh ok… wait your what now!?" Ash yelled out at shock before running out of the gym as fast as he could. This woman was crazy.


	6. Chapter 6

The gang was nearing Celadon city, but they decided to stop in a craggy, desert-like area for a lunch break. While Brock was making lunch Ash decided to work out for a little while. He changed into some work out clothes and decided to go for a run. He ran around the site and spent a little time doing push-ups and sit-ups and different type of training. After working up a good sweat he walked back to his clothes only to gasp in panic. "What is it?" Misty asked, looking at Ash who had gone ghostly pale.

"Where is my hat!?" Ash asked and looked around frantically.

"Your hat? You're freaking out this much over a hat?" Misty asked, staring at Ash with wide eyes.

"Just a hat? This isn't just a hat! It's a one-of-a-kind Pokémon League collectible! It's the last thing I have left from my dad. Where is it!?" Ash yelled out, looking around frantically, rummaging through everything they had brought until suddenly he felt something pulling at his pant leg. Looking down Ash saw a small weasel-like Pokémon holding his hat out towards him, looking guilty.

"Did you take my hat?" Ash asked and the Pokémon, a Mienfoo, nodded its head slightly. Ash sighed and took the hat from it, placing it on his head. "It's not nice to take things from people like that," Ash said, not really having the heart to scold the Pokémon in a harsher manner.

"Mien…" The little weasel said sadly, still looking down at the ground. She just thought that the hat looked cool and wanted to try it on, but after hearing how much it meant to this trainer she felt bad.

"It's fine, just don't do it again ok?" Ash said, before bending down to pet the Meinfoo. She looked up at him with teary eyes and saw him smiling at her, which she was shocked by, seeing as she had just stolen something of his. Out of a rush of emotions she jumped at him and hugged him, making him chuckle. "Quite the cuddly one aren't you? What's a Meinfoo like you doing all the way out here in Kanto?" Ash asked as the Weasel let go of him.

"Mein…" The weasel once again looked down at the ground in sadness, thinking back to those bad men in black.

"Hey, it's ok. I'm sure whatever it is you'll get through it. You seem like a tough little one after all." Ash said, trying to cheer up the sad Pokémon. It seemed to work as she grinned at him. She then looked at his belt, where all his pokeballs were.

"You want to come with me?" Ash asked the weasel, who made a few punching motions before nodding. "You want to battle first." He said making the Pokémon nod happily. "Ok, let me just get one of my Pokémon," Ash said, walking up to his belt and wondering who he should pick. After a while, he chose Charmander since he wanted the little lizard to gain some experience. He turned and grinned at the weasel. "Alright, Charmander, battle dance!" HE said and called out his Pokémon.

"Charmander, use Smokescreen and then Swords Dance while Meinfoo can't see!" Charmander released the cloud of black smoke at Mienfoo, who got covered in it. Then, using Swords Dance Charmander boosted its stats. Suddenly, dozens of stars flew out of the smoke cloud and hit Charmander. "That was a Swift! Quick, use Dragon Rage into the smoke cloud!" Charmander's throat glowed blue before he launched a huge twister of blue and purple energy at the smoke cloud, which blew it away and also hit Mienfoo, who took heavy damage.

She looked up, now being able to see her opponent. She jumped in the air and landed on Charmander with a Jump Kick, which sent the lizard flying. He looked up at Meinfoo with a glare and released a Flamethrower, which hit the Weasel. They then had a stare off, glaring at one another before suddenly they both started glowing. They grew, Mienfoo growing more than Charmander before the light disappeared, leaving a Charmeleon and Mienshao in their places. Ash smiled and took out his Pokedex, scanning Charmeleon.

"Charmeleon, the Flame Pokémon, Charmeleon has a vicious nature and will constantly seek out opponents. Strong opponents excite this Pokémon, causing it to spout bluish-white flames that torch its surroundings. However, it will relax once it has won.

Upon evolving, Charmeleon learned Fire Fang, Flame Burst and Slash." Ash smiled and looked across the field at Meinshao, who was raring to go just as Charmeleon was.

"Use Flame Burst!" Ash commanded and he could see sparks of fire come out of Charmeleon's maw just before it launched the Flame Burst, which slammed into Mienshao. She glared at Charmeleon, charging at him and using Force Palm.

"Block it with a Fire Fang! Then use Flamethrower while it's in close range!" Ash shouted. Charmeleon waited for Meinshao to get closer and as she was about to strike he bit down on her hand with Fire Fang, before opening wide and using Flamethrower.

As the move tapered off Ash saw Meinshao on the ground fainted. He hurried and threw a Luxury Ball at her, capturing her. He smiled and scanned the Pokeball in question.

 **"Mienshao, the Martial Arts Pokemon, Its arm fur is used as a weapon in battle and acts as a battle whip. Before it attacks, it lets out a bizarre wail. It then combos its attacks that are difficult to see and overwhelmingly unstoppable, and slowly stores up power for a finishing blow.**

 **This Mienshao is Female and has the Ability Regenerator. Its known moves are: Swift, Force Palm, Jump Kick, Aura Sphere, Reversal, Pound, Detect and Drain Punch."**

"Whoa, such powerful moves!" Ash exclaimed happily, cheering internally at his luck. He then released all of the Pokémon he had on hand so they could introduce themselves and so that they could have lunch.

Not two days later the gang was in Celadon city. It was massive, and Ash, who had never been in such a big city before, was absolutely astonished. The skyscrapers really did scrape the clouds, and buildings went as far as the eyes could see. Ash really wanted to explore, but there was something he had to do first. The League sanctioned Trainer Test. There were two days left, and Ash had no intention to miss out. So, after getting his Pokémon patched up in the Pokémon center the gang headed off to Pokémon League Headquarters, which was quite near the Pokémon center. Walking in, the gang saw a lavish entrance area with a desk and a receptionist in the middle.

"Hello, I was wondering if I could take the League Carry Limit Test?" Ash asked, walking up to the receptionist, a brunette with her hair up in a bun.

"Why yes, we have an examination available in stadium 3. If you go through the door on the left and go down the hall you should get there. I'll page him to inform him of this." She said and motioned towards the door. Ash nodded and went through the doors, and to the stadium. Walking in he saw a basic battlefield, with a man standing on the other side.

"Hello. You must be the challenger. My name is Grayson Baywater. The League Carry Limit Test is a one on one Pokémon battle. You must send out your Pokémon first." Grayson said. Ash nodded and steeled his nerves before looking at Pikachu who was on his shoulder. The small mouse nodded at him and jumped off, standing on all fours on the battlefield.

"A Pikachu, Electric-Type, first stage. Very well, your opponent shall be, Rhyperior!" Grayson said, sending out his Rhyperior. Ash and Pikachu gulped slightly, as this would not be an easy battle.

"Pikachu, use Agility! Then go into Brick Tail!" Ash said, hoping to get the jump on Grayson since the man could potentially be underestimating him. Pikachu blasted off towards Rhyperior, crossing the battlefield in two seconds flat, due to the Agility boost. Pikachu slammed Rhyperior with a Brick Break to the forehead and then an Iron Tail to the back of the head.

"Smack Down!" Greyson ordered. Rhyperior followed through, shooting a ball of gold energy at Pikachu, who was close by and in the air, which meant he couldn't dodge in time and that the Smack Down slammed Pikachu down into the field.

"Answer him with Double Team into Quick Break!" Ash called out. Pikachu multiplied tenfold and all the copies shot off, running around Rhyperior, occasionally running in and hitting him with a Brick Break. This, of course, was always the real Pikachu.

"Charge a Rock Wrecker, then wait for its next attack," Grayson ordered calmly. Rhyperior charged the attack and when Pikachu went in for the next blow Rhyperior pounded him with the Rock-Type move. Pikachu was launched back but managed to just barely land on his feet. Staring up ahead Rhyperior looked like he was standing strong. The Rock-Type wasn't unscathed, but he was far from defeated, while Pikachu was panting a bit. Ash wasn't sure what to do, but while Rhyperior was recharging Ash could at least put some damage on it.

"Pikachu, Agility into Quick Tail! Put your all into it!" Ash ordered. Pikachu flew at Rhyperior, this time even quicker than the first. Pikachu slammed Rhyperior with Iron Tail, even managed to make the Rock-Type fall backward. "While it's standing up, use Iron Tail again!" Ash called out. Pikachu nodded and went for it.

"Catch it by the tail, then use Rock Wrecker point blank," Grayson ordered. Just before Ash could call off the attack Rhyperior caught Pikachu by the tail. The Rock-type held Pikachu out as far away from him as he could. Then the giant Pokémon charged a Rock Wrecker on the other hand, which was point straight at the struggling mouse.

"Wait! I forfeit! A promotion isn't worth Pikachu getting hurt!" Ash called out. Grayson smirked.

"Stop." He said and the Rock Wrecker got smaller until it disappeared. Rhyperior let go of Pikachu, who ran back to Ash, who hugged the Mouse tight. "Pika-pi," Pikachu said sadly.

"Hey, it's alright. They were just stronger than us, it wasn't your fault. There is always going to be somebody stronger. It's good that the stronger person was one of the good guys." Ash said, petting the small mouse. "Besides, there's always next time." He said, making Pikachu smile sadly.

"Actually, there isn't," Grayson said, walking up to Ash.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked worriedly.

"There won't be a next time, because you succeeded this time." The man grinned at Ash, who was struck dumb for a moment. "You showed excellent battle tactics, even succeeding to make Rhyperior fall, a Pokémon with years upon years of experience. You combined moves well and did so with a clear plan in mind. However, it was the last part that convinced me. You showed restraint and care for your Pokémon, proving that you are deserving of a Carry Limit upgrade." Grayson explained.

Ash nodded lightly, still dazed, but very happy. Pikachu was also happy, judging by the mouse Pokémon's cries of joy. "Follow me so we can get the paperwork done," Grayson said and walked off.

Ash followed Grayson to his office, where Grayson took Ash's Pokedex and inserted it into a machine. "Ash Ketchum, 15 years old. Occupation: Pokémon Trainer. Current Pokemon: Pikachu, Fearow, Pidgeotto, Butterfree, Rampardos, Sandslash, Ivysaur, Vespiquen, Charmeleon, Wartortle, Girafarig, Horsea, Litwick, and Mienshao. Current Carry Limit: 10. Alright, this would mean that with this upgrade this should bring you up to a carry limit of 14. I'll message Professor Oak to let him know. Enjoy it, kid, you deserve it." Grayson said and soon enough Ash was walking out from the Pokémon League Headquarters happily with Brock and Misty at his sides.

Later that night Ash picked up all his Pokémon from Professor Oak, who congratulated him and told him that he was one of three trainers this year to pass the test. Ash was pretty happy, and now that he had all his Pokémon with him it was time for his gym battle with Erika, or well, it would be time in two weeks.

During the two weeks, Ash decided that it was time for some serious move training, seeing how Pikachu only had two viable moves during his battle with Grayson.

First off, Pikachu worked on his Electric power, as well as learning a more diverse move set. During the two weeks Pikachu tried to learn moves that others on the team knew, this included Dig and Protect. Additionally, the small mouse also learned Grass Knot to help with the heavy Rock and Ground types.

Fearow spent the two weeks learning Heat Wave and Echoed Voice. The latter would help with hitting multiple targets, or when accuracy was an issue, as well as being an all-around good move. The first would give Fearow good coverage, as well as provide a good option for Steel-types, along with other Pokémon weak to fire.

Pidgeotto, similarly to Fearow, learned Heat Wave, but also spend her time learning Heat Wave, while also mastering Air Slash and learning Air Cutter to provide more diversity to her own move set. There weren't many more moves she could learn, and these were the best options for the time being.

Butterfree continued learning more status moves and moves along those lines. He finished learning Supersonic and Quiver Dance, along with adding Tailwind to his repertoire. This meant that Butterfree could not Confuse opponents, coupled with the other status moves and then boost its own stats with Quiver Dance and Tailwind.

Rampardos finished learning Dragon Pulse and was currently working on Earthquake, the move was difficult to practice however, since they were in a city. Thus Rampardos had to practice at Oak's ranch.

This also applied to Sandslash, who was also learning Earthquake. However, the shrew first spent time learning Shadow Claw before heading off to the ranch.

Ivysaur first learned Sunny Day, this was done to make it that much easier for the grass starter to learn Solar Beam, which was easier in the sun. The Seed Pokemon could now effectively use the move even without the Sunny Day boost, and could even use the move indoors.

Vespiquen, now unburdened by the limitations of her pre-evolution was able to flourish, effectively mastering her moves and learning a couple of new ones. She now also knew Fell Stinger, Aerial Ace, Power Gem, and Roost. Roost was learned to be an effective heal move that would also remove Vespiquen's Electric and Ice Weakness should it be needed, as well as be at least marginally stronger against Rock-types.

Charmeleon was now much more confident, with the evolution and his power boost the lizard was now comfortable battling, as well as mostly healed emotionally from his abandonment. He was also now much closer with Ash. The lizard had learned three new moves, those being Brick Break, Dragon Claw and Protect.

Wartortle also learned a couple of new moves, those being Ice Beam, Brick Break, Gyro Ball, Aqua Ring. It was a lot of moves, and the turtle was quite proud of himself, and Ash was proud of him too.

Girafarig spent most of her time learning and perfecting Signal Beam, however, she also learned Stomping Tantrum, giving her two new types to work with, as well as learning Shock Wave. This was done to provide coverage, as well as see if Girafarig had control over her Electrical powers. Of course, she did.

Horsea was finally at a level of fighting on land where Ash felt comfortable working on other things with her. This included power, a bit of speed training and her learning two new moves. Those being Dragon Pulse and Scald.

Litwick spent his time learning Hex, Toxic, and Flamethrower. This is good for the little prankster, as status moves weren't exactly foreign for the small candle. He was also much more proficient at Fire-attacks now.

Finally, there was the newest member Mienshao, who had learned U-turn, Bounce and Swords Dance. The weasel also spent a lot of time with Ash battling and bonding to be able to fight more effectively with him. She was also rather well liked by all of Ash's Pokémon, which was good since all of them didn't always get along.

Ash walked into Celadon Gym but was stopped at the front. "Young man, how do you feel about perfume?" A girl asked him.

"Erm, I don't really know much about perfume. Some of them smell kind of terrible, but some of them are rather nice. I'm not sure why that's relevant though." Ash mumbled at the end.

"It isn't. Lucy, let him past." A woman with blue hair said. "My name is Erika, the Celadon City gym leader. I apologize for my girls, we recently had this rather brash kid here who insulted our craft and they are rather sensitive about that sort of thing. I assume you are here for a battle?"

"You must be Erika. Yes, I would really like to battle you." Ash said, bowing slightly in respect. She giggled and led him to the battlefield.

"This will be a gym battle between the challenger Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and the Gym Leader of Celadon city, Erika. This will be a three vs. three battle where only the challenger can switch Pokémon. Begin!" The referee said.

"Weepinbell, come dance for me!" Erika said, calling out her first pokemon, a dopey looking Weepinbell.

"Charmeleon, Battle Dance! Use Dragon Burst!" Ash called out Charmeleon, who immediately charged the Dragon Rage, while also having the flaming sparks of Flame Burst in his maw. He launched the attack, which was a large blue and purple flame which also had golden specks of fire in it, which made the move resemble a galaxy. 'Noting that down as a contest move for the future' Ash though before looking at the Weepinbell across from him, which was quite singed.

"Quite the first move. Weepingbell, use Poison Jab, then hit him with a Poison Powder." Erika ordered. Weepinbell's head-vine extended and flew at Charmeleon, jabbing him with the poison type move. While Charmeleon was being hurt by it Weepinbell spat out Poison Powder at Charmeleon, poisoning him.

"Shoot, Charmeleon, answer with a Dragon Dance, then go into Fire Fang." Charmeleon did as asked, boosting his attack and speed with Dragon Dance and then shot off at Weepinbell, biting down on the pear with his fiery attack. Weepinbell trashed in pain and eventually ended up fainting.

"You may have beaten this one, but the next one won't be so easy. I won't let you get the jump on me again. Go, Victreebel!" Erika said, sending out her next Pokémon. Ash looked at it and returned Charmeleon.

"Fearow, Battle Dance!" Ash said, sending out his Fearow. "Victreebel, constrict!" Erika called out.

"Dodge and get behind it, then use Heat Wave!" Fearow sped off, dodging the vines Victreebel shot at him. Eventually, when Fearow was behind Voctreebel he used the Heat Wave, which blew Victreebel back and left it with a burn.

"Victreebell, use Sunny Day! Then pelt them with Sludge Bomb!" Erika ordered. Victreebel used Sunny Day, which made an artificial sunshine fall over the battlefield. Suddenly Victreebel shot Sludge Bombs at rapid speed at Fearow, who was hit by quite a few of them.

"Chlorophyll? Shoot! Fearow, you have to get in close use Agility Attack and then go into Drill Peck!" Ash called out. Fearow shot towards Victreebel, using Quick Attack and Agility to get in close while dodging most of the Sludge Bombs. Then, when in close Fearow used Drill Peck.

"Dang, Victrybel, use Hyper Beam!" Erika called out. Victreebel charged and launched the Hyper Beam at Fearow, who was hurt by the move quite a bit but continued using Drill Peck, eventually causing Victreebel to faint. Fearow cawed and flew to Ash, though Ash noticed that Fearow was flying a lot slower now.

"Well, well, you are very strong. However, you have yet to face my ace. Vileplume, come out!" Erika called out. Vileplume walked out through the forest and stood in front of Erika. "Now, Moonblast!" Erika called out. Vileplume, boosted by Chlorophyll, launched the Moonblast quickly. Fearow had no room to dodge and was blasted full force by the powerful Fairy-type move. Fearow was blown back.

"Answer that with a Heat Wave! Full power!" Ash called out. Fearow flapped his wings and a full power Heat Wave blew down onto Vileplume, scorching the flower Pokemon quite a bit.

"Oh my, strong indeed. Vileplume, bring them down." Erika said in a deadpan. Vileplume's head shot up and from the top of its flower, multiple Sludge Bombs flew out to Fearow, bringing down the bird, whom Ash recalled before he could reach the ground.

"Charmeleon, Battle Dance!" Ash said, calling out Charmeleon once more, who came out with a roar and then a wince as he was still hurting from the poison. "Smokescreen into Swords Dance!" Ash called out. Charmeleon blew out smoke, covering the field so that he could set up one or two Swords Dances.

"Vileplume, absorb the smoke, then launch a Sludge Bomb!" Erika called out. Suddenly the smoke started moving in, revealing Vileplume sucking it through its flower. When it was finished it smirked and launched a much darker in appearance Sludge Bomb.

"Dodge! Then go in with a Fire Fang!" Charmeleon jumped out of the way of the black Sludge Bomb and dashed towards Vileplume, first knocking it into the air and then biting down onto it when the flower was facing away from him. "Now, Flamethrower!" Ash ordered. Charmeleon opened his mouth and shot out a Flamethrower on the Vileplume.

"That's it! Vileplume, Giga Impact!" Erika ordered. Ash's eyes widened, there would be no room to dodge.

"Use Flamethrower, knock it out before it gets to you!" He shouted out in panic. As Vileplume charged towards him Charmeleon blew flames at it until finally, they collided, causing a dust cloud to appear. Erika and Ash stared at the cloud until slowly but surely it faded, revealing a fainted lizard, with an equally fainted singed flower next to him.

"Both sides have fainted. Since the challenger still has one Pokémon left standing the victory goes to the challenger!" The referee called out and Ash jumped up in happiness. Returning Charmeleon, he walked over to Erika who smiled at him.

"Congratulations Ash. You deserve this Rainbow badge." She said and handed him the badge. He took it and placed it on the inside of his jacket. After saying his goodbyes he walked out, finally able to relax in Celadon, or so he thought.

The next day Ash and the gang went out for a celebratory shopping trip, going through the Malls and the Department Store, buying all sorts of interesting food and items. Then the trio decided to devote the next two days doing what Brock and Misty wanted to do since they spent a lot of time during the two weeks to help him train and thus didn't really have time to explore. First was Brock's turn, he wanted to go through Breeders lane in Celadon, so they headed there.

When they got there, they went past a really tacky looking Pokémon salon, which Misty went gaga over, until she was promptly dragged away by Ash and Brock. Eventually, the gang stumbled upon a pretty baron shop, which also was a Pokémon massage and care parlor. The three walked in, only to find the place empty, save for two chairs in the back of the store, occupied by to sleeping Vulpix. One was the regular red Fire-type and the other was an Alolan Vulpix, a pure white, like freshly fallen snow.

"Oh my god so cute!" Misty said, running at the two Vulpix, who's heads raised. Simultaneously they both opened their mouths and shot Ember and Powder Snow at the girl, who was ruffled by the attacks.

"Stop!" A voice called out and the two obeyed, closing their mouths again. Ash and Brock turned to see a woman with long teal hair. She walked over and helped straighten Misty out. "I'm terribly sorry, my Vulpix hate being touched by anyone other than me, so when they saw you running towards them they must have panicked," Suzie explained, fixing up Misty's hair.

"No, no it's fine. It was my fault, really! I'm old enough to know better than to run up on a Pokémon like that without knowing them." Misty said sheepishly, putting herself together.

"My name is Suzie. This is my shop. Sadly, there hasn't been many customers lately, now that that salon down the street has opened up." Suzie said, looking rather down over the whole ordeal.

"Well, then we'll be your customers! I think Pikachu could use a massage!" Ash said, and Pikachu nodded. Suzie looked up at Ash, shocked for a second before smiling brightly and picking Pikachu up, carrying him over to the massage table. Ash and the gang went over to a small table and sat down, watching as Suzie massages Pikachu, who looked very pleased. Suddenly the two Vulpix jumped down off the chairs and walked over to the three, standing in front of Ash and Brock. The two foxes jumped up on their laps and curled up, letting the two pet them.

"Wow, those two must really love your Auras. They never let anyone touch them, let alone go over to them wanting to be touched. You guys must be magic." Suzie said from her spot where she was massaging Pikachu.

"Hmpf, whatever. I'm going to the salon." Misty said, standing up and walking off to the salon. Ash and Brock stared at her worriedly before sighing. Misty had a tendency to throw mini-tantrums when something she didn't like happened.

"I assume that was because of Vulpix. They don't mean to be rude, really! They… well, they are just secretly scared of people, well, most people. Other than me and a select few they don't really interact with humans. And they don't always like the same people, as you can see. But that doesn't mean Misty is a bad person…" Suzie said, still massaging Pikachu.

"Don't worry. Misty, despite how it may seem, has a pretty thick skin. She'll get over it in no time. Besides, who could be mad at such pretty little things." Ash said, cooing over Vulpix, petting its soft white fur before his hand suddenly froze. "Still though… It makes me uneasy that she's alone right now." "I know what you mean. Celadon is a big place, we shouldn't have let her just walk off." Brock said, picking up Vulpix and setting it on the floor before standing up, Ash mirroring his moves.

"Hey Suzie, we'll be right back ok? We just have to find Misty." Ash called out. The teal-haired girl just waved them off and continued massaging, not noticing the two Vulpix stare intensely at the door.

Ash and Brock walked up to the front doors of the salon and went to go in but found that the doors were locked. "Huh, maybe she isn't here since it's closed," Brock said, turning to search somewhere else.

"Wait, I don't know why but I have a feeling she's in there, it's unsettling," Ash said, walking to the side alley next to the salon, walking up to a door at the side of the building. He sent out Girafarig and turned to the giraffe Pokémon.

"Girafarig, I want you to use Confusion to try to open this door. I think Misty is in there and I think she's in trouble." Ash explained. Girafarig nodded and used Confusion, first trying to open the lock, but it was slightly advanced. Thus Girafarig just busted open the metal parts of the door so it could slide open. Direct approach.

Ash and Brock went into the building, walking around until they stumbled upon a large theatre-like hall, where Misty was being held, tied to a chair on the middle of the stage. "Girafarig, use Confusion to rip the ropes apart!" Ash said, glaring out into the area. Griafarig nodded and her eyes glowed blue. The ropes around Misty stretched and stretched until they fell apart. Misty, unfortunately, screamed when the ropes started moving, and pretty soon Team Rocket was in the room.

"Ah, so all the twerps are here now! Perfect." Jessie said, grinning evilly. "Now we will capture your Pikachu!" She said, sending out her Arbok, which had apparently evolved since they last saw Team Rocket. James smirked too and sent out a Weezing, who had also evolved. Ash and Brock were about to call out some Pokémon but suddenly the two Vulpix from Suzie's shop jumped in front of them.

"Vulpix! You followed us?" Ash asked, staring at the snowy fox in front of him. Vulpix nodded, still in a fighting stance. "You want to help out huh? Alright, use Powder Snow!" Ash said while Brock called out a command for Ember. The two attacks flew at Team Rocket's Pokemon and made the two fly back into their trainers. "Now, Girafarig, blast them off with a Confusion!" Ash called out. Girafarig nodded and used her psychic powers to throw Team Rocket away. Ash and Brock then ran up to Misty to try and help the girl out.

"Oh thank Arceus you guys found me. Those Team Rocket jerks kidnapped me! Apparently, they were the ones running this whole salon scam!" Misty whined, stretching out and rubbing at the rope burns she had gotten.

"Of course they were. I mean, is anybody surprised at this?" Ash grumbled because honestly, those Rocket buffoons were getting on his last nerves. "I mean, they haven't even successfully stolen a single Pokémon! What special kind of incompetent are they?" Ash shouted in frustration. He then sighed and shook his head. "Not that they should steal Pokémon at all. I mean, they don't even seem that evil to me. Not like other Team Rocket members." Ash said but decided to just put the thought away for now.

"Well, that's not important right now, we should get back to Suzie," Brock said. 'Though I do wonder how they blast off so much without getting hurt… oh well.' Brock wondered while the group went to exit the theater. Walking back to Suzie's both Brock and Ash carried their respective Vulpix.

"Oh, you're back! And my Vulpix are with you! Thank goodness, I was wondering where those two wandered off to." Suzie said from behind the counter as the three trainers walked into her store. Pikachu was on the counter next to her, looking better than ever.

"Yeah, they seemed to have followed us. They helped us fight against Team Rocket, who had kidnapped Misty." Brock said while petting the small red bundle in his arms. Suzie gasped, surprised that something so horrible had happened without her knowing. After getting the whole story from the group she stared at the two foxes, who were play fighting in the middle of the room now.

"Brock, Ash. I have a request for you." Suzie said, garnering the attention of everybody else in the room. "I want you to take my Vulpix with you. To be their trainers." She said, making the whole group gasp. She sighed and shook her head sadly. "I love my Vulpix, but I'm not what's best for them. They do love my treatment of them, but they love battling. I think that's part of the reason why they attack other people that way, they are itching to battle. My Vulpix need to get out into the world, to battle and explore, and I think you would be able to give that to them. So, would you please consider this?" Suzie asked.

Ash and Brock looked at each other, considering this. "I think we could do that, but it is up to Vulpix at the end of the day," Ash said, looking at the two foxes who were looking at Suzie with teary eyes. They walked up to her and let her cuddle them for a long while before the two turned to Ash and Brock, nodding their consent.

"Well, I guess it's decided then. I'll sign the transfer document later today, but you can take their Pokeballs now." Suzie said, hand Ash and Brock two regular Pokeballs, one with a little snowflake on it and the other with a little ember. Ash, as usual, took out his Pokedex in order to scan the Pokeball to check Vulpix's moves and details.

 **"Vulpix, the Fox Pokémon, It can be found in small packs of two to five individuals.** Alolan **Vulpix can expel breath as cold as -58 °F (-50 °C), which is capable of freezing anything. While it is not suited to warmer environments, its tail can produce ice to lower the surrounding temperature if needed.**

 **This Vulpix is Male and has the ability Snow Warning. Its known moves** are: **Powder Snow, Tail Whip, Roar, Tackle and Baby Doll Eyes."** Ash smiled and looked up from his Pokedex, watching Suzie play with and say her goodbyes with the two foxes.

After saying their goodbyes, getting care tips from Suzie and leaving the Breeders Lane the gang made their way to the Pokémon Center, wanting to rest after a long day so that they would have enough energy for the day after, Misty's shopping and arcade day.

Surprisingly, Misty didn't end up buying a whole lot. It was mostly some clothes and make-up, most of which she mailed home since it would be too much to bring with her. The gang also bought a lot of travel supplies, and Ash even got a couple of new Egg holders, that supposedly made Eggs hatch faster and be more healthy.

After shopping the gang decided to stop at a café, grabbing some lunch before heading off to the next thing on the agenda, the Game Corner. The Game Corner was a popular attraction in Celadon city, where people could go and play a multitude of arcade games to earn coins, which could be exchanged for different kinds of items, and even Pokémon. Personally, Ash wasn't a fan of Pokémon being used as arcade prizes but there wasn't anything he could really do about it. Besides, Ash knew Misty wasn't interested in getting Pokémon, so he supposed he could put up with it for her sake.

Well, that's what he thought anyway. The whole place seemed… off. There was something not right about it. The employees all seemed fake and plastic, and the whole thing was just a shady environment. So, being the busy body he was, Ash decided to investigate. And really, when he looked into things, the whole thing was laughably easy to figure out. Well, it was more so that Ash was lucky and overheard two of the prize distributors talking while nobody else was around. He learned that the whole thing was an undercover money gathering scheme for Team Rocket. Figures.

So, Ash did the only thing he knew how to do, he intervened. First, he walked over to Misty and Brock and told them about what he had found out and then he called the Pokémon league, informing them about the fact that the Game Corner was secretly a Team Rocket base. Then, hiding in the Game Corner bathrooms, Ash had Girafarig use her Psychic powers to try and look around the Game Corner to see if she could figure out where the base of operations was. Surprisingly, the gang found out that it was underground, so together with Misty and Brock (who knew by now that there was no use trying to dissuade Ash, and wanted to go along to watch over him) they used Girafarig's Psychic powers to teleport themselves to a little storage room in the underground base. *Side note, I know Girafarig does not learn Teleport, but I'm making it something all Psychic Pokémon can do innately*

Then, Ash, had Girafarig scan the base to see if there were any Team Rocket members in the base. Surprisingly, the place wasn't crawling with them as Ash expected. Rather, it was mostly empty, with only a few of them there, with most of them being in bedrooms and not patrolling.

Ash, who always prioritized the welfare of Pokémon, had Girafarig lead them to where Team Rocket held all the Pokémon, and the sight they were met by was truly horrifying. It was a giant room, filled to the brim with cages with hurt or terrified Pokémon inside of them. Ash made Girafarig bust the locks on the cages, releasing the trapped Pokémon inside, before teleporting them to the Pokémon center.

This process repeated around twenty times until Girafarig just could do it anymore, falling over from fatigue. There were still maybe ten or so cages still full of Pokémon, which wasn't a good thing. Ash returned Girafarig but then decided to call out Vespiquen, asking her to bust the locks on the cages by using Air Slash. After the cages were all opened Ash and the others went to work patching up the Pokémon from the cages. Most of them let Ash and the others do this pretty easily, but there were two Pokémon in particular that refused and attacked anybody who came close to them.

It was a pair of Eevee, whose bodies were littered with cuts and bruises. Apparently, the two were fighters and didn't submit to their captors as the other Pokémon had done. It was admirable, but right now they were doing more harm than good. "Please, listen to me! We're here to help you, not to hurt you! We're trying to stop what Team Rocket is doing here! We promise when we get out of here you can leave without any trouble, but right now we need to patch you up so we can get out of here!" Ash said and the two Eevee growled and glared at him but slowly, reluctantly, let him get close to them along with Misty and tend to their wounds.

After patching up all the Pokémon the gang exited the storage room, coming face to face with a giant Dragonite. They all screamed in fear and jumped back, their arms up to Protect the Pokémon behind them. "Dragonite, it's alright! Those must be the trainers who gave us the heads up about the hideout." A rough male voice sounded. The huge Dragonite stepped to the side, revealing a tall, spiky-haired man.

"You're Lance, the Kanto and Johto Champion!" Ash yelped in surprised, star struck over the strong trainer in front of him. The man smirked.

"Yes, I am Lance of the Kanto and Johto Leagues. Good work helping out the Pokémon here. The rest of my G-men are currently swarming the base, helping out the Pokémon in the other rooms and capturing the Team Rocket members here. Now, how about we get you kids out of here along with those Pokémon." Lance said, proceeding to escort the gang out of the base along with the Pokémon, who were taken to the Pokémon center, along with our three heroes. Lance watched the G-men vehicles drive off, humming to himself slightly. 'Ash Ketchum huh? He's one to watch out for' Lance mused before heading back into the base to help out his men.

At the Pokémon center Ash, Brock and Misty escorted the Pokémon to Nurse Joy, even the Eevee pair, who reluctantly agreed to let the Nurse heal them up. The gang just decided to rest after this, but only after calling their close ones and telling them about what had happened.

The day after was when the gang finally decided to leave Celadon city behind and make their way to Fuchsia city, the home to Ash's next Gym Badge. On the way out of the Pokémon center, however, the gang was stopped by the two Eevee, who glared at them determinately. "You want to come with us?" Ash asked, making the two nod. The bigger one of the two walked up to Ash and let him capture it, while the other made it's way to Misty, who did the same. Ash looked down at the Pokeball in his hand and smiled slightly, taking out his Pokedex to scan it.

 **"Eevee, the Evolution Pokemon, This Pokémon is rarely found in the wild and is mostly only found in cities and towns. However, Eevee is said to have an irregularly shaped genetic structure that allows it to adapt to many different kinds of environments. Eventually, Eevee may evolve to better suit its surroundings.**

 **This Eevee is Male and has the ability Adaptability. Its known moves are: Tackle, Quick Attack, Double Kick, Sand Attack, Swift, Bite and Shadow Ball."** Ash smiled and tucked his Pokedex away. With this done, the gang finally made their way out of Celadon, and on to new adventures.


	7. Chapter 7

"This stinks," Ash said. And well, it did. Literally. The gang was currently in Gringy City, which smelled utterly rotten. Apparently, the city had a big Muk and Grimer problem and didn't know what to do about the Poison-types. The Pokémon invaded the city so much so that they caused a turbine in the local power plant to stop functioning, which really didn't help since Pikachu had gotten sick in the city air. What's even stranger is that a Magnemite followed Pikachu around ever since they got to the city.

Ash, determined to get Pikachu better, decided to help get the power plant functioning again. Walking into the power plant, the gang were immediately met with the foul stench, and sight, of Grimer. The sludge Pokémon charged at them, tripping over each other to get to them. Suddenly, the Magnemite that was guarding Pikachu flew in front of them at let out electric sparks, which somehow dissuaded the Grimer, making them rush off in waves.

Walking deeper into the power plant, the gang stumbled upon the crew locked in a room so that the Grimer couldn't get to them. They said that the Grimer had a leader Muk, which was currently at the Turbine that was broken. The gang went to where the turbines were and there was the Muk, eating some of the trash in a trash can, with the Grimers flocking around him. Ash quickly sent out Pidgeotto to deal with the huge sludge monster. "Pidgeotto, Air Slash!" Ash called out.

Pidgeotto cawed and swooped in, slashing at the Muk. It groaned in pain and turned around to glare at the bird Pokémon. "Use Heat Wave!" Ash ordered. Pidgeotto quickly sent out the Heat Wave towards Muk, who was damaged by the move and covered his eyes. Ash took his chance and threw an Ultra Ball, catching the Muk while it was confused.

With the Muk out of the way, all the Grimer fled as quickly as possible, since their Leader was now gone. As soon as the room was cleared of Grimer Ash and the others went back to the workers to inform them that the Grimer and Muk were gone. The workers left the panic room and went to fix the turbine.

Later, at the Pokémon Center, it turned out that Pikachu had been suffering from an electrical cold, which was why the Magnemite was following him. All Pikachu needed was to release the extra electricity he had and then get a good night's rest and the gang was good to go, and once again headed off towards their next adventure.

Unfortunately, they didn't make it too far before the next problem arose. The gang was currently traversing a canyon when suddenly they came across the large crowd, with a man in a business suit at the front, shouting something. "I want you to exterminate those meddlesome Diglett! They are ruining the construction of my spa! Those of you who help stop them will be rewarded handsomely. Just. Get. Rid. Of. THEM!" The man shouted, and some of the trainers mirrored his shout. Amongst the group of trainers Ash also saw a familiar face.

"Gary?!" Ash shouted out, getting the boy's attention. Ash saw Gary flinch slightly before seemingly steeling himself and turning around with the same cocky smirk Ash was used to seeing when it came to the boy.

"Well, well if it isn't Ashy-boy. What brings you here? Considering helping with the Diglett hunt?" Gary said condescendingly, wincing when Ash's face suddenly twisted in anger and the boy let out a growl.

"Of course not! Those trainers actually considering helping out that vile man should be ashamed of themselves! Those Diglett are probably just defending their home, like the Tentacool of Porta Vista. Who does he think he is making people hunt the Diglett down as if they were some common pests? They are Pokémon, living, breathing beings! He has no right to do this. How dare you think I'd ever join someone like that?" Ash ranted, making Gary looked ashamed and he wasn't the only one. The other trainers, or at least those who had heard them looked down in shame before walking off, deciding to do the better thing.

"Sorry. Anyway, I should be going." Gary said and walked off as quickly as possible. Ash sighed and just walked off, Brock and Misty rushing after him to catch up. A little later the gang were stopped by a group of people.

"We heard what you said there. We agree with you. You see, we are a group trying to protect the Diglett and stop the construction, which is going to ruin those Diglett's home." The man said, making Ash sweatdrop.

"Have you ever…I don't know, talked to the guy in charge?" Ash said, making the group gasp as if he just said something revolutionary. They then proceeded to drag him back to the build site and over to the businessman, who just stared at them with a raised brow. The Diglett Defense Group pushed Ash forward, apparently wanting him to do the talking.

"The site you are building on is the home of those Diglett you are having trouble with. You have to stop building there, or else you'll destroy those Diglett's homes. How did you even get a permit to build here in the first place?" Ash said, making the man freeze.

"You need to leave. Now." The man barked and made his men shoo the group away.

"Well, that was a bust. This is hopeless." A woman from the Diglett Defense Group says, looking forlorn. Ash rolled his eyes and sighed.

"No, not really. We just need to call Officer Jenny. That guy obviously didn't have a permit to build there. Besides, he was inciting Pokémon abuse with that speech back there, that should be enough to stop the building process." Ash said, already dialing the cops.

A while later the roar of an engine was heard as two police cars drove up to the build site. Officer Jenny walked out and inside the man's office tent, coming out later with the guy in handcuffs.

"There you have it, he won't bother those Diglett anymore. " Ash said, walking off again. Honestly, he was annoyed by the whole thing. It wasn't like him to be so blasé about a situation like this. It was just… seeing Gary again shook him up more than he could, or ever would, say. It was always like that when seeing Gary, and even though Gary's comment stung and made him angry Ash didn't mean to snap at Gary like that. He felt sorry for the boy.

"Ash! Wait up! Are you ok?" Brock asked as he and Misty once again caught up to him.

"Honestly.…no. I will be, but right now I just don't feel like dealing with all of that." Ash said, looking at the ground, trying not to get too worked up about the whole thing.

"I understand. Let's just head for Fuchs-Whoa!" Brock cried out and a thud sounded. Ash turned around and saw a Diglett bobbed up and down next to Brock before tapping its nose to one of his empty pokeballs, catching itself.

"Well, that was a thing," Misty commented, staring at Brock who was still on the ground, twitching slightly. Suddenly, a laugh sounded off in the area as Ash almost broke down in tears from laughing so hard. Misty smiled at the boy, glad that he was happy at least.

Finally, the gang made it to Fuchsia City, the home of Ash's next challenge, Koga. As usual, Ash spent the next two weeks training for his Gym battle, focusing on training Pidgeotto and his two newest captures.

Pikachu's training was switched up this time, as Ash had the little mouse work on endurance and resistance training. This was done by having Pikachu battle opponents one after another and having the mouse be hit by and try to work against Pokémon and Moves that he was weak against.

Fearow was sent to Professor Oak's to work on using Hyper Beam, as the move, much like Earthquake, was too destructive of a move to practice in a city. Fearow was also joined by Rampardos and Sandslash, who were still working on perfecting Earthquake.

Pidgeotto really progressed during the two weeks of training, getting so much stronger that she ended up evolving, learning Sky Attack and Brave Bird in the process. The time after Pidgeot's evolution was spent with the Flying-type getting used to her much larger size. And she was quite a bit larger, having grown to the size of Ash when she stood next to him.

Butterfree spent his time working n his moves and also learning some new ones. The Butterfly also worked a lot with Pidgeot during the two weeks, learning Air Slash from the large bird.

Ivysaur, Wartortle, and Charmeleon worked with each other to strengthen their defenses, since the three were strong against one and weak against the other. Right now the three were on a level where even with their weaknesses and strengths they could go toe to toe with each other without giving or losing the edge in the battle.

Vespiquen worked on boosting her raw attacking power, strengthening both herself and her hive so that her Attack Order was that much more powerful. The queen bee also worked on learning Toxic and Venoshock so she could give her opponents a nasty shock.

Girafarig worked really hard to learn a lot of new moves so that she could become an even better battler. The truth was that the giraffe Pokémon was upset by not being able to save all the Pokémon back when the whole Game Corner fiasco was happening. Ash talked to her about that, assuring her that it was ok and that she did her best. After cheering the giraffe Pokémon up, he helped with her training and in the end, she ended up learning Iron Tail, Hyper Voice and Wish.

Horsea was getting stronger and stronger by the day, she was working hard to get better at battling on land so that she would eventually be able to be at the level of the other team members. The small seahorse also learned Aurora Beam for coverage, as well as Headbutt to help out with fighting on land. She also learned Dragon Pulse, making her one step closer to becoming a Kingdra.

Litwick, always the prankster, learned Curse and Double Team to mess with his opponents. He also learned Inferno, which would guarantee a burn, but would also put more damage on the opponent than Will-O-Wisp, making it a deadly Hex combo.

Mienshao was a great addition to the team. The weasel was extremely good at fighting, and anything offensive. However, she was slightly hindered when it came to defensive and tactical moves, excluding Detect and Reversal that is. So, Mienshao spent the two weeks learning moves like Protect, Bulk Up, Reflect and Taunt to round out her move set a bit more.

Vulpix, although packing a punch for being such a tiny little thing, still had a long way to go. However, the tiny fox was determined and spent his time learning how to accurately hit his moves and how to pack an even bigger punch, while also adding Ice Shard, Headbutt and Confuse Ray to his repertoire.

Eevee was also in the same boat as Vulpix. He was strong but lacked finesse and experience. Thus Ash spent time teaching both of them how to fight. Eevee also learned more physical moves, that were stronger than what Eevee knew from before, learning Take Down, Headbutt and Agility, though he was still slightly fumbling and clumsy when he reached higher speeds.

So, once again he was standing in front of the gym, which was styled a lot like a dojo. One full of traps, seeing as he had to dodge Voltorbs and many other deadly traps inside the Gym building. "That's a lawsuit waiting to happen…," Ash said, walking out onto the field in the back of the Gym, where a man was sitting on the ground, meditating.

Ash's newest capture, Muk, was a different story, however. The giant sludge pile's attitude had done a 180 and he was now a big pile of hugs and loveliness. Sadly, he also had absolutely no interest in battling. So, Ash decided to just give Muk to Professor Oak, who had bonded with Muk just like he had with Krabby, thus solving the issue.

"You must be the challenger. Welcome, to the Fuschia city gym. This bout will be a two on two. Let's see if you can handle my Poison-types!" The man, Koga, said, sending out his first Pokémon. A Venonat burst out of the Pokeball, shaking around wildly before stomping down fiercely, ready to battle.

"Girafarig, battle dance!" Ash said, sending out the giraffe, who jumped around and stomped on the ground as well, showcasing her power. She glared at the little mite, determined to redeem herself from her self-proclaimed failure. "Use Agility!" Ash called out. Girafarig ran off, getting faster and faster by the second.

"Signal Beam!" Koga ordered. Venonat shot a bright, colorful beam towards Girafarig, which hit it on the back leg, making the giraffe stumble and fall, rolling once before getting back on her feet, facing towards the mite.

"Confusion to throw it up in the air, then use Zen Headbutt!" Ash called out. Girafarig's eyes glowed a bright blue color and Venonat's body was also enveloped by the same color. Girafarig used her Psychic powers to throw Venonat into the air before charging, her cranium glowing. She smashed into Venonat, who was on its way down, sending the mite flying.

"Infestation, then use Poison Powder." Venonat stood up again and shook itself off before launching a little bug swarm onto Girafarig, which just bit and nipped at her, before launching a Poison Powder towards Girafarig, who was hit due to the distraction the bugs caused.

"Shadow Bolt!" Ash called out, trying out Girafarig's new Shadow Ball and Thunderbolt combo. Girafarig charged up a Shadow Ball, except before launching it she released electricity from her horns, which enveloped the Shadow Ball and sent it flying at Venonat at breakneck speeds. The Shadow Ball slammed into Venonat, causing a nasty bit of damage. "Now finish it off with Psybeam!" Girafarig smirked and shot a rainbow beam at Venonat, who was blown even further back and ended up fainting. Koga sighed and returned Venonat, before sending out his final Pokémon, a Venomoth.

'Love the variation.' Ash thought before shaking his head. He looked ahead at Girafarig, who wasn't all that damaged but was infected with both the Infestation and the poison, and he didn't want her to get hurt, so after congratulating her and complimenting her on the great fight he returned her. "Pidgeot, battle dance!" He called out, releasing the bird of pray. She cawed loudly before staring intimidatingly at Venomoth.

"Air Slash, boost it with a Gust," Ash said. Pidgeot formed a large blue ball between her wings and sent it flying towards Venomoth, speeding it up with a Gust attack. The ball nicked Venomoth, who attempted to dodge, but couldn't quite get away fast enough.

"Venomoth, Poison Fang!" Koga called out and Venomoth flittered towards Pidgeot, who just looked at Ash and knew what to do, proceeding to speed away, flying circles around Venomoth, going faster and faster with Agility.

"Nice going Pidgeot! Use Heat Wave!" Ash yelled towards the bird Pokémon. Pidgeot continued flying around, sending waves of embers at Venomoth, who didn't know what to do with itself. "Now finish this with an Aerial Attack!" Ash called out, and yes it was a little presumptuous but Venomoth was on its last legs so sue him.

Pidgeot flew at Venomoth, a trail of white behind her, her wings glowing from the Aerial Ace and Wing Attack combo. She smashed into Venomoth, who then smashed into the wall surrounding the gym, causing a huge crack in it. Naturally, this was enough to make Venomoth faint. Koga returned Venomoth, little tears in his eyes as he looked at the wall which was broken but just decided to ignore it and walked over to Ash, presenting him with the Soul Badge. Ash accepted the badge, chatting a bit with the gym leader before scurrying off as fast as he could to avoid the wall bill.

Just a couple of days later, on their way to the Safari Zone, the gang came across a ranch with some really nice owners who let them stay the night. That was when Ash and the gang learned of an upcoming race, which would be held in two days time. That piqued their interest and made them want to stay.

Thankfully, the Laramie family were kind people, and ones who enjoyed company, so they were more than willing to house the gang so that they could stay until the race. The family's only daughter, Lara, bonded with the gang quite a bit since there were very few people on the ranch that were her age. She was actually participating in the race, in hopes of winning so that the prize money could be used to grow the ranch. Her partner, a head-strong Ponyta, was always around her, and during the gang's stay, Ponyta and Lara trained all the time in order to win the race.

However, Lara's dream of winning the race alongside Ponyta was a dream that was not meant to come to fruition. The night before the race, there was a huge stampede of Tauros. In an attempt to stop the stampede Lara and Ponyta were injured to the point of not being able to run in the race. Lara's rival, a cocky trainer named Dario came shortly after the stampede and gloated about her not being able to run in the race, and basically claiming himself as the victor. This angered Lara, who tried to charge him, even with her hurt leg. The gang held her back, telling her that Dario wasn't worth it while glaring at the boy until he left.

Later, in the Laramie home's living room, the gang and Lara's parents were around her as she sobbed into a pillow, trying to comfort her. "It's all over now… mine and Ponyta's dream to run in the race. How are we going to expand the ranch now?" Lara mumbled as she sobbed.

"I could run for you," Ash stated, making everybody look at him.

"You would do that?" Lara asked, staring at him in bewilderment.

"Yeah, I can run the race for you and if I win I can give you the reward," Ash said, grinning at the girl who slowly stopped crying before nodding soundly.

"Alright. Ponyta was hurt alongside me, but you could run with Ponyta's brother. He's just as strong as her, and she's been training with him all this time." Lara said, taking out a Pokeball and sending out another Ponyta, this one slightly larger than Lara's. Ash smiled and stood up, walking over to Ponyta.

"Hello, Ponyta. My name is Ash. You see, Lara and your sister were injured in a Tauros stampede and I was wondering if you could race alongside me in order to help the Laramie ranch?" Ash asked. Ponyta stared into his eyes, considering this before neighing and nodding his head in consent. Ash smiled and walked closer to Ponyta, petting it before hopping on his back.

The day after Ash, Brock, and Misty stood behind the start line on their Pokémon with all of their competitors, including Dario, who was glaring at Ash and the gang. "He's planning something, I just know it," Misty mumbled quietly so that only Ash and Brock could hear her. They both nodded and prepared themselves for the race to come. Ash was on Ponyta's back, Misty was using Starmie's ability to fly to ride on it's back and Brock was sitting on Steelix's head. Pikachu was also racing as Ash's entry, riding on Girafarig's back.

The flag bearer took his placed and raised both flags, making all the competitors fall silent and prepare their Pokémon. "All racers at the ready. 3, 2, 1, Go!" The flag bearer called out and lowered both the flags quickly. All the racers took off, racing through the first part of the course quickly. Dario gained a slight lead over Ash, who was in second place while the others were only slightly behind him.

Ash heard a scuffle and turned around while still on Ponyta to see a Tauros and Nidorina fighting a ways behind them. "Wonder what that could be about." He murmured before turning back, catching Dario's smirk right before the other boy turned back as well. 'That guy is way too shady.' Ash though before stroking Ponyta's neck while the horse continued galloping.

Shortly thereafter the racers reached an uphill portion of the race, where an Electrode and it's trainer managed to take over the second place spot. However, after falling into a pitfall and exploding, Electrode managed to block the path of Ash and Ponyta, while incapacitating a Sandslash and a Raticate. Using Ponyta's jumping ability Ash managed to overcome that obstacle and continued to race, although he was sadly a little behind everybody now, though he managed to catch up fairly decently.

Soon enough everybody reached a large lake, with many stepping stones across the surface of the water. Brock and a farm hand using a Rhyhorn were unable to continue the race due to this obstacle, however, Starmie and Ponyta were great, and managed to get Misty and Ash the second and third place respectively.

After the lake came the small break portion, where the pokemon had to eat a bowl of food before continuing. This was simple enough and thankfully Dario's Dodrio started fighting amongst its three heads allowing Ash to start running before Dario. This however angered the other boy, who decided enough was enough and decided to pull his final trump card, Team Rocket, who interrupted the last leg of the race, attacking everybody.

After discovering that Dario was working with them Ash and Misty fought with the two, with Starmie landing the final blow on Arbok and Weezing. Sadly, this made Starmie exhausted, and therefore unable to finish the race. Ash, with gritted teeth and full determination, sped off in order to catch up to Dario, Pikachu, and Girafarig a little ways behind him.

Ash and Ponyta were pretty close to Dario, and there were only three kilometers left of the race, the finish line now nearly in sight. It seemed that Dodrio was just that little bit faster than Ponyta, and the distance between them was slowly increasing. "Come on Ponyta, I believe in you! I know you can do it!" Ash said encouragingly, hugging around the Pokemon. Ponyta, invigorated by Ash's words started running faster, catching up with Dodrio, running neck and neck with the Pokemon.

Ponyta's flames grew larger and larger, seemingly glowing with power until finally, the glow enveloped Ponyta, who grew and grew with Ash still on his back, until the glow finally burst off, revealing the newly evolved Rapidash. Rapidash raced ahead, already several meters ahead of Dodrio. The finish line was just ahead now and Rapidash ran faster and faster, leaving flames in its hoof tracks, ripping through the finish line before pausing after it, standing tall and proud as the crowd cheered, Dario and Dodrio soon coming through the finish line, coming in second, with Pikachu and Girafarig finishing in third.

Dario was enraged at this, and together with Dodrio charged at Rapidash and attempted to attack it, the crowd gasping in shock. Rapidash noticed this thankfully and delivered a powerful kick, sending Dario and Dodrio flying. The ones in charge of the race declared Dario's second place forfeit and handed the second place prize over to the Laramie's along with the first place prize, while Ash received the third place prize due to Pikachu and Girafarig. Lara posed along with Ash and Rapidash in the photo, hugging along the fire horse's neck. A little later the gang was back in the Laramie home, celebrating when Lara stood up slowly to give a toast.

"I want to thank all of you. None of this would have been possible without you and I had a wonderful time with all of you. I especially want to thank you, Ash. You ran for me in the race and gave us the first place prize instead of taking it for yourself, which is something very few would do for people who are practically strangers. You are a wonderful person and a great trainer. Which is why I would like you to take Rapidash. He really loved running with you, and I've never been as close with him as I have with Ponyta, and besides, he seems to have bonded with you. So, would you accept him?" Lara asked, staring at Ash.

"I would love to have Rapidash with me," Ash said and everybody cheered. Lara smiled and handed Ash Rapidash's Pokeball, saying that she would report the trade so that it would be officially registered. Ash nodded and scanned the Pokeball. **"Rapidash, the Fire Horse Pokemon. Rapidash is a very agile Pokémon. It runs at about 150 mph (240 km/h), chasing everything that moves in hopes of racing it. With incredible acceleration, it reaches its top speed in only ten steps. At full gallop, its hooves barely touch the ground. The faster Rapidash goes, the longer the swaying flames of its mane will become. At an all-out gallop, its blazing mane sparkles, a feature which is said to enhance its beautiful appearance.**

 **This Rapidash is Male and has the ability Flame Body. Its known moves are: Fury Attack, Quick Attack, Ember, Flame Wheel, Stomp, Poison Jab, Take Down and Flame Charge."** Ash smiled and put away his Pokedex, happy with his newest member. The day after the gang finally packed up and headed on their way, bidding the Laramie family goodbye.


	8. Chapter 8

"How much longer do we have to go?" Misty complained, dragging herself a little ways behind Ash and Brock, who were still going strong. They were currently on a road which would take them to the Safari Zone, which was their next destination. The gang wanted to stop by and see if there was anything interesting in there.

"We're almost there Misty. If you want you can wait for us in the reception if you're too tired." Brock said, still walking ahead. He was actually pretty excited since he had heard a lot of good things about the Safari Zone. It was supposedly filled with Pokémon, even ones who weren't from Kanto. This didn't mean all that much when you were traveling with Ash since they seemed to encounter foreign Pokémon all the time but oh well.

"But-" Misty was cut off as a building came into view in the horizon. Brock turned to her with an 'I told you so' smug look on his face, making her grumbled and turn her head petulantly. The gang walked ahead, finally reaching their destination.

Walking into the building, Misty immediately went to the couches, very tired from all the walking they had just done. She decided to stay there while Ash and Brock explored, preferring to rest up and play with her Pokémon.

Ash and Brock walked up to the front desk and were met with a grumpy old man, who called himself the Safari Warden. He grudgingly gave them the Safari balls, warning them not to fight the wild Pokémon in the Safari Zone before waving them away. Ash and Brock just stared at each other before walking off, not wanting to make the grumpy man even sourer.

Walking into the Safari Zone Ash and Brock looked around in wonder. The place had many Pokémon, and it was just beautiful, with several different types of habitats in place to accommodate the Pokémon. There were Pokémon from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh and even some Kalos Pokémon here. Brock and Ash weren't looking for a ton of new party members since they both had a decent amount but if they found something they really wanted they would catch them.

"We should split up. Maybe we can meet up at that lake in the middle in two hours?" Ash asked, looking at Brock who nodded and headed east, towards the more craggy area in the Safari Zone, while Ash headed west, towards a large plain. There he saw Pokémon such as Tauros, Zigzagoon, Seviper, and Ekans, among others. Ash looked over all of the Pokémon and decided that a Tauros would be the most useful, and it was also a Pokémon Ash had always wanted from watching the Tauros at the ranch stampede around.

So, standing at the edge of the field Ash waited until a Tauros stampede ran past him and threw a Safari Ball at the Tauros, only needing to throw about 6 of them before finally catching one. Ash cheered and waited till the stampede passed and walked over to the Pokeball, taking it in his hand. He set his bag to the side and sat down on a little stump near the field, taking out his Pokedex to scan his new capture.

 **"Tauros, the Wild Bull Pokemon. Tauros is a violent, rowdy Pokémon that whips itself into a frenzy using its three tails. Once it starts charging, it is unable to stop or change course until it hits something. It lives and travels in herds on plain and grasslands. It will lock horns with others of its kind, and the herd's protector takes pride in its battle-scarred horns.**

 **This Tauros is Male and has the ability, Sheer Force. Its known moves are: Horn Attack, Rage, Take Down, Pursuit, Work Up, Rest and Headbutt."** Ash smiled and tucked away his Pokedex and his newest capture before continuing to explore, looking around for different Pokémon.

He didn't find anything in particular for quite a while until at last, he found a Rhyhorn near the mountainous region of the Safari Zone. It was in a fight with two Gravelers, who were pelting it with rocks.

Rhyhorn didn't really seem phased, however, as he just stared at them blankly before suddenly a large wave appeared behind Rhyhorn, with the rhino taking surfing on the top of it, crashing down on the two Gravelers, who fainted. 'Wow, I've heard of Rhydon knowing Surf but never a Rhyhorn. This one must be something special.' Ash thought to himself, taking out one of the Safari balls, chucking it at Rhyhorn, who saw it coming and batted it away.

Ash frowned and hurried to dodge when Rhyhorn charged at him, rolling aside to avoid the tank of a Pokémon. Ash stood quickly and ran for a big rock, standing atop of it while Rhyhorn turned to him and stomped at the ground, ready to charge once more. Ash panicked as Rhyhorn charged and got closer and closer, and eventually Ash jumped off the rock, over Rhyhorn, who crushed the rock to pebbles. 'Glad I wasn't on top of that thing.' Ash though with a sweat drop as he ran looked around for something which could help him. He finally spotted a big rock on a cliff side and thought of a plan.

Ash ran for it, and pressed his back on the cliffside, right below the rock which was hanging off the side. Ash looked at Rhyhorn, which was now glaring at him slightly and stomping on the ground again. It charged and Ash stared and waited with bated breath until it got close enough. He rolled to the side and watched as Rhyhorn smashed into the cliff, causing it to rumble, the rock above breaking off and falling downwards, smashing into Rhyhorn's head, who fell slightly because of this.

'Now's my chance!' Ash though and threw another Safari Ball, this time hitting the Rhyhorn, watching it get sucked into the ball. He watched with bated breath as the Pokeball shook once, twice and then once more before little stars sparked out of the Pokeball, signifying a successful capture. Ash cheered and wiped the sweat off his forehead. 'That was close,' he thought, walking up to the Pokeball and picking it up. He once again took out Dexter and scanned the Pokeball.

 **"Rhyhorn, the Spikes Pokemon. When it runs, it forgets why it started and continues until it falls asleep. However, it may recall the reason upon demolishing something. Rhyhorn runs in a straight line due to its short legs making it inept at turning. It does not care if obstacles get in the way, merely smashing through them or sending them flying. Sometimes it may feel pain the day after a collision. Rhyhorn lives in rough terrain.**

 **This Rhyhorn is Male and has the ability Rock Head. Its known moves are: Horn Attack, Stomp, Take Down, Rock Throw, Drill Run, Surf, Megahorn and Rock Slide."** Ash grinned and tucked away the Pokeball. Checking the time he saw that there was only half an hour until the promised meet-up with Brock at the lake. Ash decided he would take his time walking back and look at the scenery.

Just under half an hour later Ash was by the lake, sitting on a stump and relaxing, waiting for Brock to arrive. "Hey, Ash!" A voice called out. Ash turned his head and saw Brock walking up to him, smiling.

"Hey, Brock! Had fun?" Ash asked as Brock sat down next to him, stretching quietly. It was quite sunny, and the slight breeze made this a great spot to relax, especially after that Rhyhorn attack. Brock grinned and nodded.

"Yup managed to catch two new Pokémon!" Brock said proudly, patting his backpack to indicate that it was where his two new captures were.

"Really? Me too! First I caught a Tauros shortly after we split up. It was running with its herd across a field. Then I wandered around for a while, didn't find anything too interesting. But then, I came across this Rhyhorn fighting with some Gravelers, and it beat them by using Surf! It was crazy! So, I caught it too." Ash said, leaving out the part where he had to run around to not get smashed by said Rhyhorn.

"That sounds amazing! I've never heard of a Rhyhorn who knows Surf, usually, members of its species are only capable of doing so after evolving." Brock said, staring at Ash in slight wonder before shaking himself off. "Anyway, after we split up I went to a craggy area, where I saw a Nosepass. It was just staring blankly ahead, and I caught it pretty easily. After that, I also decided to walk around for a bit and ended up getting slightly lost in a forest. That's when I found a Shuckle, who I caught and then it helped me get out of the forest and back here." Brock said and suddenly a Shuckle's head popped up behind his, and the Pokemon gave a greeting cry.

"Hello, Shuckle! My name is Ash." Ash introduced himself, smiling when the snail gave an excited cry.

Ash and Brock decided to relax a little by the lake, enjoy the sights. Unfortunately, that wasn't in the cards, as pretty soon Team Rocket appeared on the other side of the lake with the warden in ropes. One yell from the Warden and suddenly a Dragonair and Dratini burst from the lake, glaring at Team Rocket. "It's a Dragonair and Dratini!" Ash exclaimed, staring at the two dragons in wonder.

"Please, you have to help them!" The warden said, trying to struggle out of the ropes. James smirked upon seeing the dragons and raised a bazooka-like device. When he pulled the trigger a net burst out, capturing the two dragons and dragging them back to Team Rocket. "Hey! Leave them alone!" Ash said, sending out the first thing he could grab, which happened to be the Rhyhorn he had just caught. Rhyhorn turned and glared at Ash, stomping on the ground, making Jessie cackle.

"Looks like he's more interested in fighting you!" She said, smirking maliciously. Ash growled and balled up his hands but shook himself out of it. He looked at Rhyhorn pleadingly.

"Please Rhyhorn! They're going to steal Dragonair and Dratini! You have to help me stop them!" Ash called out. Rhyhorn stared for a while before turning to look at the two dragons struggling in the net. He faced team rocket and with a stomp, he let out a mighty roar. "Alright!" Ash cheered happily. He then glared at Team Rocket, who suddenly looked slightly worried.

"Enough of this! Arbok, Nidorina take care of them!" Jessie said, throwing out two pokeballs. As usual, Arbok came out, but this time it was accompanied by a Nidorina, who looked ready to fight.

"Weezing, Nidorino help them out!" James said, sending out Weezing and a large Nidorino. Ash growled, not having expected them to get new Pokémon. 'I should have been prepared for this. I'm such an idiot…' Ash though before he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Brock smiling at him.

"Hey, it's ok. We'll beat them. We may not be able to send out our Pokémon here, but we can still use the ones we caught in here. So, it's an even fight." Brock said, turning to glare at Team Rocket. "Nosepass, Shuckle, stop them!" Brock called out, sending out Nosepass while Shuckle jumped out of the bag.

Ash stared before nodding, determined. He also turned to Team Rocket, a fire burning in his eyes. Ash sent out Tauros and explained what was happening. The bull nodded and glared at Team Rocket. "Brock, you take James, I'll take on Jessie," Ash called out. Brock nodded and pretty soon the opposing forces clashed.

"Arbok, Poison Sting! Nidorina, Brick Break!" Jessie commanded. Arbok opened it's mouth and started to spray Rhyhorn and Tauros with the poisonous needles. Thankfully, Rhyhorn's thick, rocky hide made the needles just bounce off. Tauros wasn't as lucky though and got poisoned. Nidorina used that as an opportunity to charge in and hit Tauros with the Brick Break.

"Tauros, hang on! Use Work Up, then charge Nidorina with a Headbutt! Rhyhorn, use Horn Attack and combine it with Take Down!" Ash called out. Tauros let out a loud cry and stomped on the ground, starting to charge, slamming into Nidorina shortly thereafter, sending the Pokémon flying. Arbok also flew back, this time due to Rhyhorn's attack, the snake landing on top of Nidorina.

"Now, Rhyhorn use Surf! Tauros, charge out of the way!" Ash said. Rhyhorn formed the wave as Tauros ran to the side as much as possible. Then, surfing atop of it the rocky rhino slammed down on the two Poison-types, making them cry out in pain, the wave washing them off to Jessie's feet. Ash looked at Brock, who was fighting against James. Nosepass was nowhere to be seen, presumably fainted, while Shuckle was standing opposite of Nidorino and Weezing. Just as Ash was about to help out Shuckle before suddenly it's body glowed white and it released a white beam which slammed into Weezing and Nidorino, launching them at James' feet. 'Bide? Nice!' Ash thought to himself.

"Now, Rhyhorn, Tauros, use Take Down! Send them flying!" Ash called out. The two charged, slamming into Jessie, James, Meowth, and their Pokémon, sending them flying, also causing James to drop the rope holding the net. Ash watched as the thieves flew off until they were nothing but a little blink off in the distance. Ash cheered and ran up to hug Tauros and then Rhyhorn, who surprisingly accepted the hug.

After getting the two dragons from the net and helping out the Safari Zone Warden Dragonair rushed to his side, while Dratini stared, confused before slithering up to Ash and slithering up his body to nuzzle him. Ash giggled and petted the little dragon. Dragonair, seeing this, also came up to Ash. Ash froze, not wanting Dragonair to perceive him as a threat to Dratini but only found the large snake smiling at him.

"Thank you. I don't know what I would have done with myself if those thieves took Dragonair. I'm sorry for being so rude to you when you came here. You see, people come here all the time to capture Dragonair, which it doesn't want. That's why I try to protect it." The Warden said. Ash stared at the Warden and then Dragonair in consideration.

"Why don't you just capture it? That way it will be safe." Ash said. The man's eyes widened while Dragonair cheered at the idea, which surprised the man even more.

"You want me to catch you?!" The Warden asked the large blue snake, which nodded and coiled around him gently, nuzzling him. "What about Dratini?" He asked, causing Dragonair to pause. It started at Dratini in consideration as it played with Ash's hat. Dragonair turned to the Warden and let out a small coo.

"I see. Young man." The wared said, looking at Ash, whose gaze snapped up to meet his. "It would seem that Dragonair would like you to take care of Dratini, and I agree with her. It's bad enough with a Dragonair here, if people learned there was a Dratini too they would try to get a hold of them, regardless of them being caught by me or not." The Warden said. Ash understood what he meant, but he was uncertain. He took Dratini in his arms, holding it so that it faced Ash.

"Do you want to come with me?" Ash asked. This shocked the warden, as he had expected the boy to jump at the chance of training a Pseudo-Legendary, yet here he was asking Dratini what it wanted. Dragonair smiled, knowing she had made the right choice. Dratini stared at Ash, it's head tilted to the side. It just cooed and nodded jumping out of his grasp to nuzzle him again. Giggling from the slightly ticklish feeling Ash took out a Safari ball, tapping Dratini's head with it, capturing the small dragon. After this, he took out his Pokedex and scanned his newest capture.

 **"Dratini, the Dragon Pokemon. As Dratini is filled with life energy, it is constantly growing, and can thus reach lengths of over six feet. As it grows, it sheds its skin regularly. Whenever Dratini undergoes shedding, it hides behind a large waterfall. Although this Pokémon was originally thought to be nothing more than a myth, it has been found in colonies living underwater.**

 **This Dratini is Female and has the ability Marvel Scale. Its known moves are Wrap, Thunder Wave, Dragon Rage, Twister, Extreme Speed, and Water Pulse."** Ash smiled and sent out Dratini, letting it nuzzle him and letting it cuddle and say goodbye to the warden and Dragonair, leaving with them promising to cheer on Ash and Dratini in the League.

 **-Two days later-**

On their way back to Vermillion City, where they are going to catch a ferry to Cinnabar Island, the gang ended up stopping by stone town, where they learned there was going to be a party hosted by the town's resident rich kids, the Eevee brothers. Apparently, the theme of the party was going to be Stone Evolutions, and that was something that piqued the gang's interest, as they all had several Pokémon that evolved by stone, and after discussing this with their Pokémon the gang decided to join the party.

Thankfully they arrived in the town in the nick of time, as the party would be on the very day they arrived. So, leaving behind some of their bags and stuff in the Pokémon center the gang headed towards the mansion.

Arriving at the party the gang saw a large extravagant mansion, where the garden was filled with trainers and Pokémon from all around, as well as food and refreshment tables. There were also several tables where evolutionary stones were being sold. There were all kinds of Pokémon there who evolved by stone.

The gang decided to wait a while before evolving their Pokémon together, so they split up to enjoy the party. They all had a lot of fun talking to different trainers, discussing training and battle strategies, care and other Pokémon related things with the trainers at the party.

At one point Misty noticed a boy who was sitting on a bench, looking very sad. Taking a plate of sandwiches and some juice Misty walked over to him and set them next to him. "Hi! I'm Misty. What's your name?" She asked, watching as the boy looked up at her, surprised and a tad apprehensive.

"M-Mikey…" The boy mumbled. Misty smiled at him.

"Hello Mikey, why are you sitting here by yourself?" She asked, wanting to find out what was making the boy so sad. However, before she could get her answer she was interrupted by a group of guys who walked up to them.

"Mikey! There you are. Have you decided yet? And where's Eevee?" The one with the red hair asked making Mikey frown.

"Eevee isn't here. And no, I haven't decided." Mikey said, looking away petulantly.

"What? But you're supposed to choose by the end of the party! That's why we hosted this whole thing so that you could finally evolve Eevee. You won't win any battles without Eevee evolving you know." The yellow-haired one said.

"Yeah! Besides, I know you can't wait to evolve Eevee into a Vaporeon!" The blue haired one said, making the three guys start to argue with each other.

"But… Eevee and I don't want him to evolve." Mikey mumbled but was disregarded by the three who were still arguing. Misty was about to intervene, however, Ash beat her to the punch.

"You know, I really don't think you're taking into consideration what he wants," Ash said, interrupting the three's quarrel. The three boys turned to Ash and glared at him.

"And just who are you supposed to be? We're his brothers, we know what's best for him. Besides what do you mean we aren't taking what he wants into consideration!? This whole party is so that he can choose whether he wants Eevee to evolve into Jolteon, Flareon or Vaporeon. Though, we all know he's going to choose Flareon." The red-headed one said. The other two turned to argue with him again but Ash cut them off before they could start.

"First of all, this is exactly what I mean. It's clear that you're all trying to force him to evolve Eevee into your personal favorite. Besides, what if he doesn't want to evolve it? And don't give me all of the 'He isn't going to win any battles if he doesn't evolve it' crap. Any Pokémon can be strong, regardless of whether or not it evolves. And even then, he could just want to evolve it into another Eeveelution." Ash lectured the three.

"Another Eeveelution?" The blue haired one asked, shocked, which made Ash face-palm.

"Yes, another Eeveelution. There are eight in total. Vaporeon, Flareon, Jolteon, Espeon, Umbreon, Leafeon, Glaceon and Sylveon. The ones who aren't the tree you like were discovered in different regions, and are just as valid as Jolteon, Flareon, and Vaporeon. I think you need to focus less on your selfish wants and give the kid some space to figure out what's best for him and his Pokémon." Ash said, and all fur brothers stared at him, fascinated.

"Wow, I never knew that there were five other evolutions for Eevee. Do they also evolve with stones?" Mikey said, astonished.

"Clearly they didn't either. And no, well in a way. Espeon is a Psychic-type and evolves through its bond with its trainer while its day time. If its night time, Eevee will evolve into Umbreon, a Dark type. Sylveon is similar to this, but it needs to get lots of affection and care from its trainer while knowing a fairy type move or two. Glaceon and Leafeon evolve when they touch an Ice and a Moss Rock respectively. These rocks are located in several placed around the world." Ash explained.

"Wow, so Eevee can evolve because we're friends?" Mikey asked, making Ash smile and nod.

"I didn't know… Looks like we're not really such experts after all. I'm sorry Mikey." The yellow-haired one said, with the other two also following his lead and apologizing to their little brother.

"Where is Eevee by the way?" The red-head asked again, making Mikey look down guiltily.

"I didn't want you guys to force him into evolving so I hid him in a tree hollow on the outskirts of town…" Mikey said, making the three brothers, Misty and Ash frown a little.

"You shouldn't have left Eevee like that, but I guess it's understandable. Besides, it's really our fault. Come on, let's go get Eevee." The blue-haired one said, leading Mikey away and letting him show them the way to Eevee.

"You were great," Misty commented as she watched them leave. Ash smiled, proud to have helped out the boy and his Pokémon. After a little while of partying and watching Mikey come back with his brothers and Eevee Misty, Brock and Ash gathered near one of the fountains and called out the Pokémon they would be evolving.

Misty sent out her Gloom and Eevee, while Ash and Brock sent out their respective Vulpix. Putting the correct stones in front of each of them the gang stepped back as every Pokémon touched the stones and started glowing white, turning into Vileplume, Vaporeon and two different Ninetails. A few people cheered and clapped, while the gang hugged and congratulated their Pokémon.

With this out of the way, the gang enjoyed the rest of the party with their new Pokémon and afterward headed back to the Pokémon Center to rest up and then headed off the next day, saying goodbye to Mikey and the Eevee Brothers.

 **-Another day later-**

The gang was once again on their way to Vermillion when their journey was interrupted once again, this time due to something that was quite frightening. They were in a city where they would rest up for the day when suddenly Pikachu started choking. Ash was terrified, but thankfully Brock was near and was able to give Pikachu the Heimlich so that the gang found out that there was an apple piece stuck in Pikachu's throat. Still, Ash was really scared for Pikachu, and like the overprotective trainer he was, he took Pikachu to the Pokémon center to make sure that nothing was wrong.

"Pikachu is in perfect condition." Nurse Joy said, walking back to the desk with Pikachu on a small tray, from which it jumped off and into Ash's hands, who then proceeded to cuddle the little mouse.

"That's a relief, I was pretty scared for Pikachu," Ash mumbled, rubbing Pikachu's head and petting the little mouse, who chirped happily. Suddenly, the doors of the Pokémon Center burst open and several people came in, carrying a bunch of Pokémon.

"Nurse Joy! There was a road accident, you have to help!" One of the people called out and put a Hitmontop on the counter.

"Oh dear! I don't know if I'd be able to heal all these Pokémon so quickly." Nurse Joy exclaimed, looking worried. "Is there anybody here with a medical license or experience that could help me out?" Nurse Joy called out. Misty, Ash, and Brock walked up to the counter, along with a woman from the crowd. Nurse Joy smiled and called for some Chansey, which took the Pokémon on stretchers and spread them around the rooms.

"Ok, the Chansey and I will handle the serious injuries, you can help with the Pokémon that aren't in such severe conditions." Nurse Joy said and ran off to handle the Pokémon.

 **-Four Hours Later-**

Misty, Brock, and Ash finally sat down in the cafeteria of the Pokémon Center, finally finished with helping out Nurse Joy. Thankfully most of the Pokémon had little to no injuries, and the ones who did weren't all too severe.

Nurse Joy walked over to the small group and smiled at the trainers. "Thank you so much for helping out today. Thanks to you I was able to focus on the Pokémon who really needed help and therefore all of them are going to be okay now." Nurse Joy said happily. Before anybody could answer suddenly there was a glow that burst through Ash's bag.

"The Egg!" Ash exclaimed and opened his backpack, taking out the Incubator and placing it on the table, opening the lid. The gang and everybody around them stared as the egg glowed periodically. Suddenly it glowed even brighter and didn't stop glowing until the light faded away, a little Happiny in place of the egg. It opened its eyes softly and stared into Ash' eyes. They stared at each other for about ten seconds before suddenly Happiny hopped up and hugged around Ash, somehow lifting him up in an embrace.

"Woah! So strong for such a little thing!" Ash exclaimed and just went with it until Happiny eventually put him down, smiling brightly at him. "Hello Happiny, my name is Ash. I'm going to be your Trainer." Ash said softly, petting Happiny meekly. Happiny cheered and hopped around happily.

"It's always a touching moment when a Pokémon hatches. Let's check this little one out to make sure everything is in order." Nurse Joy said and a Chansey came over and picked up Happiny, Ash coming with them so that Happiny could continue to imprint on him, scanning the little one in the process.

 **"Happiny, the Playhouse Pokémon. Happiny's pouch is rubbery and flexible, enabling the Happiny to put things into it with ease. As it cannot produce Eggs yet, it makes up for it by carrying a white, Egg-shaped stone in its pouch to imitate Chansey and Blissey. It may give this stone to people whom it likes, and it has a habit of wandering around people's feet and causing them to stumble.**

 **This Happiny is Female and has the ability, Natural Cure. Its known moves are: Drain Punch, Hyper Voice, Uproar, Pound and Sweet Kiss."** Ash gasped and stared in astonishment at the amazingly strong baby Pokémon, even Nurse Joy was a little shocked. However, not one to look a gift horse in the mouth Ash decided not to ask questions.

After getting Happiny checked out and having her getting the all clear Ash caught her, and the Pokeball was immediately sent to Pallet town. After getting her from the Professor Ash and the gang were ready to head off once again.

 **-Yet another day-**

Ash was giddy and full of excitement. Today the gang were going to be going on a fossil hunt. Unfortunately, Gary also happened to be there, which somewhat upset Ash but strangely the boy didn't appear to pay Ash any mind. Rather, he seemed to be staying away from Ash, which strangely almost bothered Ash even more.

But that didn't matter. He was still excited to go on the fossil hunt since that was something Ash had never done before. Currently, the gang stood among a crowd, having just received some digging supplies from the ones who arranged the whole thing. "There are no rules, except no taking other people's finds. I hope you all have a marvelous day!" The foreman announced, and thus the fossil hunt began.

Misty, Ash, and Brock walked a little ways away from the other people in order to have some peace. They set off, chipping away at the mountainside. They mined and they mined and they mined until finally, Misty yelled in frustration. "This is hopeless! We're never going to find any damn fossils in this place!" She yelled and threw her pickaxe to the ground, creating a crack.

"Misty, it's alright. Fossils are very rare, and I'll be surprised if the whole expedition finds more than one or two." Ash said, walking up to her and putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. She sighed, knowing deep within that he had a point.

"You're right…" She said, walking over to pick up her pickaxe. However, just as she lifted it the floor beneath her caved in and she fell, along with the rocks.

"Misty!" Ash yelled, jumping in and catching her, angling her so that he would brace her fall. Thankfully they landed in the water so that the fall didn't hurt all that much. Ash pulled them both out of the lake and they looked around, seeing nothing but cave and water.

"Misty, Ash! Are you guys ok!?" Brock yelled out from above ground.

"Yeah, we're fine! Go get some help from the foreman! We'll be fine!" Ash called out. Brock called out his acknowledgment and walked off, presumably to get some help. Ash looked at Misty, who had finally gotten herself together. "It'll be fine, we'll be out of here in no time."

"I hope so. Thanks for the save Ash!" She said, smiling at him.

"Of course I saved you. You're one of my best friends! You're practically my sister." Ash said, grinning at her, not noticing her slight flinch at the sister comment, nor hearing her sigh. He did, however, notice when she suddenly froze. "Misty? Are you ok?" Ash asked.

"Ash.… behind you," Misty said. Ash froze too and turned slowly, gasping at what he saw. There right in front of them was a Kabutops, Omastar, Omanyte, and Kabuto. Oh yeah, and the giant freaking Aerodactyl behind them.

"Maybe they're friendly..?" Ash said, really hoping that they were. His question was answered however when Aerodactyl fired a Flamethrower at them. "Ok, not friendly!" Ash said, taking Misty's hand and dragging himself and her to the side to avoid the attack. "Charmeleon, Ivysaur, Wartortle, battle dance!" Ash called out, sending the three starters out.

"Misty calls Starmie, Vileplume, and Vaporeon!" Misty said, calling out her own Pokémon.

"Misty, you take the others. I'm going for Aerodactyl, he looks terrifyingly strong." Ash said, turning to the huge flying beast. It let out a large roar and flew at him, Flamethrower at the ready. "Wartortle, Water Gun to counter. Charmeleon, use Brick Tail on it when Wartortle counters. Ivysaur, charge a Solar Beam!" Ash ordered.

Ivysaur ran to the sunny spot which was left in the cave from when the ceiling collapsed and started charging the Solar Beam. Wartortle stood there at the ready and when Aerodactyl came in with the Flamethrower Wartortle blasted it with a Water Gun, canceling it out. Aerodactyl appeared confused and Charmeleon used this confusion to launch it's attack, launching itself in the air so that it was level with the flying monster, firstly slamming it in the head with Iron Tail and then a Brick Break for good measure. As Charmeleon fell down to the ground it looked at the enraged Aerodactyl, who was about to attack when it was struck with a Solar Beam.

Aerodactyl was hurt severely by the three attacks, but that only angered it more. It let out a terrifying screech which shook the cavern walls and paralyzed all the Pokemon with fear. It then went for the first thing in sight, which happened to be Charmeleon.

"No!" Ash screamed, running up and pushing Charmeleon out of the way, gasping when Aerodactyl grabbed him and flew off, bursting through the cave ceiling and into the sky.

Back in the cave Charmeleon stared at the hole in the ceiling in shock. Ash had just saved him. Saved. Ash. SAVE ASH! The cave was filled with light which glowed from Charmeleon as it grew bigger and bigger, revealing a Charizard who let out a mighty roar and flew off after the pokemon who kidnapped his trainer.

Aerodactyl stared back, shocked to find a Charizard flying at it. The Aerodactyl smirked and threw Ash back, the boy screaming in terror as he was flung across the sky. Charizard dived down after him, closing the gap more and more by the second. Just as Ash was about to hit the ground Charizard caught him and set him down, the boy too paralyzed with fear to react. Charizard took off again glaring at Aerodactyl passionately.

Charizard charged and Aerodactyl braced itself for a Brick Break, seeing Charizard's hands glowed as Charmeleon's had. However, it was not expecting Charizard to suddenly turn and hit it with an Iron Tail, which sent Aerodactyl flying off, slamming into the mountain-side.

The foreman ran to the scene, and before Aerodactyl could recover the man threw a Luxury Ball at it, managing to catch it since Aerodactyl was hurt badly. "That should contain it…" The foreman said. The foreman flinched slightly as Charizard swooped down next to Ash, comforting the boy who was still shivering.

"Ash!" A voice called out. Gary ran over and knelt down, placing his hand which seemed to shake Ash out of it. "G-Gary…?" Ash mumbled hesitantly almost afraid, and he was. Ash was still terrified.

"Ash, are you ok!?" Brock called out, also kneeling next to Ash. Gary frowned slightly and stood, stepping away from Ash. "What was that thing?" Brock asked, and yes, he was aware it was an Aerodactyl, but still.

"There were fossil Pokemon down there, Omanyte, Omastar, Kabuto, Kabutops and… you know." Ash said quietly before gasping. "Misty! Misty's still down there!" Ash cried out.

"Actually, I'm just fine and very much so above the ground," Misty said, walking up to them, looking at Ash with concern. "Ivysaur got everybody out with his vines after we took care of the fossil Pokémon. They weren't as violent, in fact, they seemed relatively docile. Not like Aerodactyl, that thing seemed feral. We found two eggs down there though. Ash, you can have one." Misty said, trying to cheer Ash up, though he flinched at the thought of Aerodactyl.

The foreman nodded. "What happened to the other fossil Pokémon then?" He asked, looking at Misty.

"I caught them. It didn't seem right to leave them down there. I'm probably going to send Kabutops and Omastar to my sisters." Misty announced to the group and the foreman nodded, satisfied.

"I want to leave." Ash butted in. Everybody looked at him as he stood up shakily and walked off, Charizard walking right behind him. Misty and Brock stared at him before shaking themselves out of. Their stupor and saying goodbye to the foreman, who apologized to them yet again, promising that Aerodactyl would be adapted to the modern day. Gary stared sadly at Ash as he all but ran away from the Fossil site.

 **-Later-**

"Ash. Ash!" Misty yelled, finally getting his attention. Ash turned and looked at her, slightly apprehensive. "What is with you? I know you were scared, but don't run. Let us help you." Misty said, trying to talk some sense into Ash.

"I can't...Misty, I can't. I've never been more scared of anything in my life, there was something about that Aerodactyl. When it touched me I felt it. It felt wild, feral. It was rabid, and all it wanted was to tear everything apart. It was pure bloodlust." Ash said, starting to breathe faster and faster, nearly hyperventilating.

"Hey, hey. It's okay. You're safe now. You'll never see it again." Brock said, hugging Ash, who finally let go and cried out all the fear that had built up. After he stopped crying he stood and dried his face.

"Our clothes are still wet from falling in the water. We should make a camp for the day." Ash said, and the gang went to find a clearing, meanwhile, Ash scanned Charizard, thankful that Dexter was water-proof.

 **"Charizard, the Flame Pokemon. Charizard flies in search of powerful opponents to battle, and its fire will burn hotter as it gains experience. Its fiery breath is capable of melting boulders, massive glaciers, and has been known to accidentally cause forest fires.**

 **Upon evolving, Charizard has learned: Aerial Ace, Wing Attack and Seismic Toss."** Ash smiled, very glad that Charizard evolved than in order to save him. Ash absentmindedly rubbed at the egg Misty had handed him, which was identical to the one she was carrying. Looks like he would be the Trainer of two young Pokémon.

 **-Another day, again-**

Ash was currently facing off against another trainer, a large man with a Rhyhorn. "Ivysaur, battle dance!" Ash called out, sending out his grass starter.

"Rhyhorn, Take Down!" The trainer ordered. Rhyhorn charged forcefully.

"Ivysaur, jump over it and hit it with Leaf Storm from above," Ash ordered. Ivysaur waited for Rhyhorn to come close enough and then front flipped over Rhyhorn, releasing a storm of sharp leaves as he was directly above Rhyhorn.

"Rhyhorn! Use Smack Down!" The man ordered. Rhyhorn blasted a rock up, which then flew above Ivysaur and came down on it, slamming Ivysaur into the ground, bulb first.

"Ivysaur, are you ok!?" Ash asked, a little worried for his Pokémon. Ivysaur stood, and white the flower on it's back was a little mushed Ivysaur seemed relatively ok. "Good. Use Sunny Day, then finish it with a Solar Beam." Ash said, wanting to end the battle so that he could get Ivysaur's bulb checked out.

Ivysaur released a white beam from his bulb up to the sky, which gleamed with daylight even though it was almost night. After this Ivysaur charged Solar Beam, releasing It before either opponent could react, enveloping Rhyhorn in the beam of sunlight, making it faint.

After being congratulated by the other trainer and chatted with him for a bit the gang walked to the nearest Pokemon Center. Ash dropped off Ivysaur with Nurse Joy for a check-up and then the gang got some rooms, dropping off their things. Ash sat in the lobby, waiting for Ivysaur to finish his check-up while thinking over some things.

'I have 21 Pokémon now, 22 if you count the egg. I don't know if getting more is a bad idea or not. Perhaps I should focus on the ones I already have and train them since the league isn't that far away. Besides, my team had amazing type coverage as is, since I have a Pokémon of nearly every type apart from Dark. Besides, a lot of my Pokémon are pretty young or at the very least untrained, so they need some tough training, especially since there are four months until the League. Right now on me, I have Pikachu, Pidgeot, Ivysaur, Charizard, Wartortle, Horsea, Eevee, Ponyta, Dratini, Happiny, Tauros, and Rhyhorn. I should probably exchange Pidgeot and Charizard to give some of the newer captures a chance, at least in the short while we have before reaching Cinnabar. I think I'll get Litwick from the professor, and then leave one slot opened If the egg hatches.' Ash though, standing up and going over to the phones to call the Professor.

"Ash! Hello, my boy!" The professor said as he picked up the call, Muk standing behind him, waving at Ash.

"Hello Professor, Hi Muk. I wanted to call and ask if we could transfer some Pokemon. I wanted to send you Pidgeot and Charizard and have you send over Litwick. Oh, I wanted to tell you I also have another egg with me." Ash said.

"That won't be a problem. And congratulations on all the new captures my boy, catching a Dratini is very impressive." Oak said, standing up and walking off to get Litwick while Ash chatted with Muk. As the professor came back he placed a Pokeball in the transfer machine and sitting down. "I'm ready for the transfer."

"Alright, let me just put Charizard and Pidgeot's Pokeballs in the transfer machine," Ash said and did so, watching as they disappeared and were replaced with Litwick's Pokeball. Ash picked it up and walked back over to Professor Oak, who now had two pokeballs with him.

"Thank you, Professor!" Ash said, smiling at his adoptive grandfather.

"It's really no bother Ash. Oh, now that I have you here, there's something I wish to discuss with you dear boy." Oak said, turning serious. "Think of it as thanks for gifting me Muk, although this would be something you would learn of eventually. You see, my colleague, Professor Sycamore of the Kalos region has discovered a new way for Pokémon to evolve past their final stage. It's called Mega-evolution." Oak said, making Ash gasp.

"Mega-evolution!? How was it discovered? Do we know which Pokémon are able to go through this Mega-evolution? How is it done?" Ash asked, his head swimming with the prospect.

"Mega-evolution is a process in which a Pokémon goes beyond its natural limit through the bond it has with its trainer. This is done using a Key-stone, which the trainer holds and a Mega-stone, which is held by said Pokémon. Currently, they are working on discovering Mega stones and Key-stones, and as far as we can tell there are over forty unique Pokémon which can Mega-evolve. I've compiled a list of the ones we have discovered too far, as well as pictures and details of what the Pokémon look like and other research data." Oak said and suddenly Ash's Pokegear received a message, which was all the files the professor was talking about.

"This is amazing Professor," Ash said, skimming through the research data. Oak smiled.

"It truly is my boy. However, I would like for you to hold this a secret for the time being." Oak said. Ash looked at him and nodded since he knew that this was something major. "Anyways my boy, I have to go now. Goodbye, and good luck." Oak said and dropped the call.

Ash sat there for a while, pondering over this when a ring was heard through the center, with Nurse Joy announcing that Ivysaur was ready to be picked up and calling for Ash. Ash stood from his place by the phones and walked up to the front desk, where Ivysaur and Nurse Joy were waiting for him.

"Ivysaur is as good as new. I assume you're here for the Bulbasaur evolution festival?" Nurse Joy asked, making both Ash and Ivysaur's gaze snapped up to her.

"Bulbasaur evolution festival?" Ash asked, making her raise her brows.

"Oh dear, I assumed that was the reason you were passing by tonight, what with Ivysaur and all. You see, every year many Bulbasaur and Ivysaur from around the region gather here in the Mysterious garden in order to evolve, imbued with the tree's power." Nurse Joy explained.

"Wow, that's amazing. And what a coincidence. But… what do you think about this Ivysaur? I'd never make you evolve if it wasn't what you wanted." Ash said, looking at Ivysaur, who seemed to be taking this under consideration before finally nodding, grinning at Ash. Ash, smiled and hugged Ivysaur, and after getting the details of the festival headed off to bring Misty and Brock with him.

 **-At the Mysterious Garden-**

Ash and the gang arrived just in time, as they saw a large group of Bulbasaur and Ivysaur gathered around a Giant Tree, in front of which stood a Venusaur, who seemed to be leading the event. Ash motioned for Ivysaur to head down into the garden and it did so. The gang watched as the Bulbasaur and Ivysaur stood there, listening to the Venusaur and its cries.

Soon, the tree started to glow faintly, and little glimmers of energy flew all around towards the Bulbasaur and Ivysaur and into their bulbs. The whole area glimmered and shined as each Bulbasaur and Ivysaur glowed with the light of evolution. As the glimmer and light slowly faded the field was filled with Ivysaur and a couple of Venusaur, all of which cheered at their evolutions. After a while, the ceremony ended and all the newly evolved Pokémon parted, one Venusaur, in particular, walking up to where Ash, Misty, and Brock were, smiling at Ash, who hugged around him before scanning him.

 **"Venusaur, the Seed Pokémon. Venusaur uses its flower to catch the sun's rays to convert them into energy, which causes the flower to become more vibrant. The flower releases a soothing scent that attracts Pokémon and calms emotions. This scent becomes stronger after a rainy day.**

 **Upon evolving, Venusaur has learned: Petal Dance and Giga Drain."** Ash smiled and after chatting a bit with the newly evolved Venusaur Ash returned him to his Pokeball and the gang headed back to the Pokémon Center to rest for the day.

 **-The next day-**

Ash yawned and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Trying to prop himself up he found that something was weighing down on his chest. Opening his eyes Ash was shocked to discover a Togepi standing there, smiling at him. Ash wondered where it could have come from but gasped in realization and turned to his bag, which was opened, the incubator outside of it, laying on the floor, also opened.

"Hello, little one…" Ash said apprehensively, calmed when the Togepi responded to him softly, but happily, signifying that it wasn't hurt. Ash picked up the little egg and cradled it in his arms, slowly standing up and walking to his bag to get a Pokeball.

"Would you mind if I catch you? This is a heal ball, and if you're hurt it will help you get better." Ash explained to the Togepi, who seemed to get the general gist as it shook its little arms in an attempt to reach the Heal ball. Ash smiled and tapped Togepi lightly with it before scanning it with his Pokedex.

 **"Togepi, the Spike Ball Pokemon. It is able to siphon the positive energy of others, and then release it to those in need of it. It has a very joyful nature. As a result, it is said that it shares its joy with those who take care of it. Because of its disposition, Togepi is seen as a sign of good luck, especially if a Trainer is capable of getting a sleeping Togepi to stand**

 **This Togepi is Female and has the ability Super Luck. Its known moves are: Metronome, Sweet Kiss, Peck, and Encore."** Ash smiled before standing up and putting on his clothes before walking to the reception, where he was met by Misty. "You too huh?" She asked, making ash giggle.

"Yeah."


	9. Chapter 9

The sea breeze, the fresh air, the sound of ocean waves crashing into the shoreline. This was Cinnabar island. And this was the site of Ash's next gym battle, a battle he had been preparing for ever since he came to the Island. Ash made sure to train even harder with his Pokémon so that they could grow all the more. And they did.

Pikachu worked on his raw power, training to develop his strength and increase it several-fold. This was done because, while Pikachu had the speed and was also very strong, he still wouldn't be able to take out the bigger, tougher and bulkier opponents. He also learned two strategical moves in Nasty Plot and Feint. Nasty Plot because it would increase his strength, and Feint to counter nasty moves like Protect.

Fearow was still working on Hyper Beam, getting closer and closer by the day to perfecting the move and reducing the cooldown time after it. Fearow was joined in learning the move by Pidgeot, the two being closer than ever now that they had both matured. Ash had a feeling that they would eventually become mates, which was funny, considering the rivalry between the species.

Butterfree, ever the move technician learned three new moves, this being Toxic, Venoshock and Shadow Ball. Toxic and Venoshock made for a deadly combo and Shadowball would be good for some Ghost-coverage. Butterfree was also working on getting stronger, since his species were known for not being very strong, which was something he wanted to disprove.

Rampardos and Sandslash both managed to perfect Earthquake, which was quite a deadly move when used effectively, which would now be even stronger due to both Pokémon learning Swords Dance, which would boost both of their attacks, which the two practiced against each other since they were quite the sparring partners.

Venusaur and Charizard were both getting used to their new bodies. Venusaur now had to get used to being much slower, which was something both Venusaur and Ash were working again, since Venusaur's fighting style had always been fast and acrobatic, and while they could never make it all too acrobatic they could at least make his speed somewhat of a surprise for their opponents. Charizard was now working on his flying speed, as well as controlling his new power and focusing it onto an enemy so that his attacks would be less wild and untamed and more precise and powerful. The dragon also learned Shadow Claw for some coverage.

Wartortle was very determined, it was like a fire in his eyes, and you could almost feel it. Since both Venusaur and Charizard were now fully evolved Wartortle worked tirelessly to catch up, working nearly day and night, or he would have if Ash didn't force him to take a break from time to time. Still, the turtle grew in leaps and bound, learning a slew of new moves such as Aura Sphere, Iron Tail, and Ice Punch. All in all, Ash was very proud of Wartortle.

Vespiquen was going as strong as ever, learning Roost, X-Scissor and Protect. Roost and Protect were to provide healing and Protection outside of her hive so that they could be less focused on supporting her and Focus mainly on attacking.

Girafarig was proving herself as an even greater battler than anybody gave her credit for, since she never seized to surprise, beating even the newly evolved Venusaur and Charizard by learning Psychic and Thunder, also learning Foul Play along with the other two moves. She was quickly earning respect amongst the ranks of Ash's Pokémon. She was also surprisingly motherly towards the younger Pokémon, teaching them how to battle and teaching the youngest two different moves they could do.

Speaking of which, Happiny and Togepi were still much too young to fight and train like the others and were definitely not ready for serious battling like the Gym leaders or the league, and probably would get there by the time Ash was ready for the league. Still, they practiced a tiny bit, not wanting to be left out, they both learned Protect, which was also something that helps give Ash piece of mind, since they now had a means of defending themselves, if only a bit.

Horsea trained very hard to get stronger, which paid off since the little seahorse wasn't so little anymore. This was because all the hard work and training eventually worked to evolve Horsea, who was now a powerful Seadra. Seadra also now knew Water Pulse, Dragon Rage and Ice Beam, which was a combination of moves she learned from evolving and just moves she learned from training. Seadra was now also able to levitate, an impressive feat since that was something that members of its species usually only managed after evolving even further into a Kingdra. This was particularly useful since this now made Seadra a force to be reckoned with and a typhoon in the water.

Litwick, the little prankster, was practicing with his newest move, Inferno. It was a great move, very powerful, but also very wild and thus hard to land on an opponent, which is why Litwick was practicing his accuracy with it, while also working on his power.

Mienshao was mostly working on Hi Jump Kick since the move was dangerous to use because of the results if it misses. The weasel seemed to mostly get a hold of it and was very capable of devastating opponents with it now, but it never hurt to perfect. She also learned Brick Break, which would be useful if they ever came across the moves Reflect or Light Screen.

Ninetails, upon evolving had learned Aurora Beam and Dazzling Gleam, also learning Ice Beam and Foul Play from training, adding four new moves to his repertoire, which made the fox quite cocky, though it was mostly just a front to annoy the other Pokémon, since while Ninetails was quite vain he was also quite kind to those who could get passed the ice prince façade.

Eevee was working quite hard, now having a clear goal in mind. Before the training weeks began Ash asked the little fox what he wanted to evolve into and discovered that Eevee liked Umbreon the most, which he was now working towards, learning Protect, Iron Tail and Dig to help him along the way.

Rapidash and Ash had a surprising amount of synchronization, the fire horse working hard to establish himself as one of the tops on the team since the newest additions were quite a bit weaker compared to the ones who had been with Ash longer, which was only natural. Despite that Rapidash worked hard so that he could be on par. That determination drove him to learn Fire Spin, Bounce, and Double Kick in order to stomp the competition.

Tauros was a wild card, literally. The bull was a great fighter and had a bright future but his fighting style was too unfocused, which is why Ash first worked on having Tauros fight in a more focused and calculating manner, which resulted in the Bull learning Focus Energy and then worked on Wild Charge to still be able to release some of that wild energy.

One Pokémon that was a little bit of a problem was Rhyhorn, since the rhino was very head-strong and refused to really work with Ash for the first week, only doing so after Ash proved himself as a competent Trainer to Rhyhorn by using Rapidash to beat the rhino, which was coincidently when Rapidash learned Double Kick.

Dratini was a sweetheart. She was a very loving Pokémon and the whole team adored her, especially Charizard who had taken a big-brotherly role when it came to her. Although she was sweet that's not to say she wasn't a fighter, oh no. The little dragon was vicious in battles, which Ash chalked up to her draconic nature. She had learned Agility and Dragon Tail, which helped her be an even more effective fighter.

Amongst the training the gang also explored the Island quite a lot, Brock even came across a new member of his time, a fiery little Slugma who they found at the base of the volcano.

Ash was now standing at the Gym entrance, which was built into the volcano on the island. Ash had to complete a set of clues to get to the gym, but it was all fairly simple. So there he was, ready for his next challenge. Walking in, the heat immediately hit him, he was swimming in it. 'Can't imagine how Blaine battles here all the time.' Ash though, taking his place on the challenger's side. Right then the doors on the other side opened and Blaine walked in.

"Hello Ash, finally here to challenge me then?" Blaine asked, also taking his place on the field. Suddenly a robotic voice boomed through the volcano.

"This will be a battle between the challenger Ash Ketchum and the Gym Leader Blaine. This will be a three vs. three battle, where the goal is to knock out all three of your opponents Pokémon. Only the challenger is permitted to change Pokémon. Now, will the Gym Leader please send out their first Pokémon." The robotic voice explained.

"Gladly. Ninetales, flame him!" Blaine called out, sending out his Ninetales, who came out gracefully, sitting down and just exuding pure power.

"Dratini, battle dance!" Ash called out, sending out his little fighter. Dratini came out with a battle cry. The little dragon glared at the fox opposing her. "Ok, start this off with Extreme Wave!" Ash said. Dratini rushed forward and great speeds, soon slamming into Ninetales, causing it to cry out in pain, despite not moving an inch. Blaine just looked on until he gasped, finally grasping what had happened as small sparks flew off of Ninetales, signifying the paralysis.

"Clever move. Let's see how you deal with this. Ninetales, use Shadow Ball, don't let up!" Blaine ordered. Ninetales fired Shadow ball after Shadow Ball at Dratini, who moved around to dodge but was finally hit by one, causing a small smoke cloud to appear.

"Dratini! Quick, counter with agility to get in close!" Ash ordered and Dratini knew that it was time to execute the plan, dashing forward and regaining her wits. She was right in front of the Ninetales now, the fox ready to blast her point blank with a Shadow ball when suddenly Dratini jumped over her. "Now, Water Pulse!" Dratini quickly charged a Water Pulse and shot it onto Ninetales point-blank.

"Now, Dragon Rage!" Dratini nodded and charged a Dragon Rage.

"Counter with Flamethrower!" Blaine ordered. Ninetales quickly shot a stream of flames at Dratini, who also shot the Dragon Rage back, the two attacks clashing.

"Full power Dratini!" Ash called out, making Dratini crank it up to a ten, with Ninetales doing the same. The opposing attacks were so strong that they ended up in an explosion, which sent both Pokémon flying, landing in front of their respective trainers with a thud, both of them fainted.

"Well, seems the first round was a tie. Let's see what else you've got! Rhydon, rock his world!" Blaine said, throwing out his next Pokémon, a Rhydon.

"Wartortle, battle dance!" Ash sent out Wartortle, who was ready to fight. "Let's start this off with Jet Pulse!" Ash ordered. Wartortle jumped up, engulfing himself in water which was dancing around him, charging a Water Pulse at the front of his Aqua Jet (think Buizel's version of this from the DP anime).

"Counter with Thunder Punch!" Blaine ordered. Rhydon charged a Thunder Punch and as Wartortle came in for the hit Rhydon slammed his fist into the Aqua Jet, the two attacks canceling each other out, but both Pokémon were still hit with the powerful moves.

"Now, Aura Sphere!" Ash yelled over to the other side of the field, where Wartortle and Rhydon were. Wartortle smirked and charged the blue sphere, launching it at Rhydon while jumping backward. The blue sphere smashed into Rhydon, exploding slightly, covering Rhydon in a smoke cloud.

"Thunder," Blaine said calmly, and Ash gasped. Before he could order Wartortle to do anything the Thunder came in a flash, washing over Wartortle who screeched in pain. As the lightning dissipated Wartortle was left standing there, grimacing in pain. "Wartortle, use Rain Dance, then go in with an Aqua Jet!" Ash called out. Wartortle's body began to glow and shortly thereafter some cloud appeared over the volcano, starting to pour, which in turns caused steam to fly up on all sides of the battlefield. Thankfully, due to Wartortle's Rain Dish ability the rain healed him little by little with every drop. Wartortle let himself get enveloped by the streaming water once again, charging towards Rhydon, who once again charged a Thunder Punch.

"Go around it, then dissipate the Aqua Jet and hit him with Iron Aqua Tail!" Ash ordered just before Wartortle and Rhydon collided. Wartortle quickly changed directions and got behind Rhydon, avoiding the Thunder Punch. As the Aqua Jet dissipated Wartortle stood there in the air, smirking as its tail took on a metallic appearance, while water swirled around it in a whirlpool. Wartortle slammed its tail into Rhydon, who fell face first into the ground from the force of the two super effective attacks hitting it at once. With this, Rhydon had fainted.

"Well, that was unexpected. You adapted to the unexpected quickly, I applaud you, Ash. However, this next one will be even tougher. Go, Magmar!" Blaine called out his last Pokémon, a Magmar who radiated pure heat and power. "Thunder Punch!" Blaine ordered and in the blink of an eye, Magmar was in front of Wartortle, slamming it's electrified fist into the turtle, sending it up into the air.

"Wartortle, Aqua Jet to avoid hitting the ground, get close to it!" Ash called out, thinking on his feet. Wartortle quickly went into an Aqua Jet to avoid the damage the fall would cause and rocketed towards Magmar. "Now, Rapid Gun!" Ash called out. Wartortle froze in the air and started using Rapid Spin, also shooting out a water gun to send blasts of the pressurized water everywhere (Counter Shield). Magmar cried out as the Water whipped at him, causing steam to be released.

"Break it with a Hyper Beam," Blaine called out. Magmar hurriedly charged the orange beam and fired it, ripping straight through the water blasts and right into Wartortle's spinning shell, sending the turtle flying and smashing into the walls of the volcano. Ash looked back to Wartortle, who was now embedded in the wall behind him. Ash grimaced and returned Wartortle, turning back to Blaine and Magmar.

"Seadra, you're my last hope. Battle Dance!" Seadra came out with a loud shout, floating around, showing off her new form. "Now, Agility Team, then use Bubblebeam!" Ash ordered. Seadra jumped, or well, floated into action. Gaining speed due to agility, Seadra quickly surrounded Magmar, blasting it with a volley of bubbles from all sides since it swapped with its clones very often.

"Stop it with Psychic, then use Giga Impact," Blaine called out. Magmar's eyes glowed a bright blue and all the clones froze, disappearing one by one leaving the original Seadra there, struggling against the Psychic. Magmar was then engulfed in a white aura as it prepared to go in for the last move.

"Seadra, stop it with a Water Pulse! Keep firing them!" Ash ordered, worried for his Pokemon as Giga Impact was no joke. Thankfully Seadra didn't need to move to manipulate the water to her will and thus was able to fire several Water Pulses at Magmar, who just kept charging the aura before finally charging in, going through water pulse after water pulse before finally slamming full force into Seadra, who was thrown back and cried in pain as it was also thrown all the way to the wall.

Seadra floated back on the field, not knowing what to do as she hurt all over. Thankfully Magmar would need a while to recover from that move, still thought she didn't have much left in her. The last thing she wanted was to lose this for Ash. She couldn't. She wouldn't. Seadra stared at Magmar with a glare, focusing all her energy into one big attack. She had to do this.

Suddenly, unexpectedly, a powerful blast of water came from Seadra, stronger than any Water Gun, blasting at Magmar who was still recharging and badly hurt from the Giga Impact. The water sent Magmar flying, and this time it was the one who was slammed into a wall and was finally knocked out, winning Ash the gym badge.

Blaine smiled and recalled Magmar, walking across the field towards Ash who was hugging Seadra. "Congratulations Ash, this was a tough battle. You have earned this." Blaine said, handing Ash the Volcano Badge. Ash smiled and accepted it from Blaine.

"Thank you, but it was mostly my Pokémon who made this possible. I don't know how that battle would have gone had Seadra not learned Hydro Pump in the last second. That was a very intense battle, and I think it will help me improve. Thank you, Blaine." Ash said, making Blaine grin. After some conversation with the Gym Leader Ash exited the gym, now the proud owner of a Volcano Badge.

-Two Days Later-

Ash sighed as he took in the smell of the ocean. Currently he, Misty and Brock were atop Misty's Gyarados, riding across the Kantonian ocean, setting course for Vermillion city. It was a surprisingly relaxing journey, and it wasn't all that long since Gyarados was quite speedy. Ash happy just lounging about and enjoying the ocean.

"Look, it's an island! We should stop there to have lunch since Vermillion is still four hours away." Misty said, pointing to an island in the distance. Ash and Brock agreed and soon Gyarados was dropping the three of them off on the island, going to its pokeball to rest.

The gang set up lunch on the beach and after eating decided to head out, when suddenly they hear a loud cry. They rushed through the tree line only to eventually come to a large clearing, where several Squirtle and Wartortle were attacking a Blastoise in its shell. "Hey, leave it alone!" Ash called out and suddenly the Squirtle and Wartortle turned to glare at the group, slowly advancing upon them, one Wartortle chattering at them. Ash turned to Pikachu, who then explained what was happening.

"Wait, so your leader isn't waking up?" Ash asked, making the Wartortle and Squirtle stop, the Wartortle in front nodding slowly. Ash looked to de deep into consideration, before he suddenly sent out Wartortle, crouching down to explain the situation to him. "Think you can help?" Ash asked and Wartortle nodded, going over to examine the Blastoise.

Wartortle walked around and tried to see what was wrong with Blastoise when suddenly he noticed something which seemed to be stuck far into one of Blastoise's cannons. Wartortle got into there and tried to pull out whatever it was but it was quite difficult, and Wartortle couldn't really do it. So, he wrapped his tail around one of the protruding appendages and used Aqua Jet to shoot himself and the stuck object out of Blastoise's cannons.

The group gasped as Wartortle shot out of Blastoise's cannon in a rush of water along with a Jigglypuff, which also awoke Blastoise. The large turtle stood up slowly, blinking awake before looking around, looking at one of the Wartortle for an explanation. After getting the short version Blastoise walked over to Wartortle, staring into his eyes. Suddenly Wartortle started glowing, growing and growing until the glow disappeared to reveal a second Blastoise in Wartortle's place. Ash gasped and took out his Pokedex to scan the newly evolved Pokémon.

"Blastoise, the Shellfish Pokémon, The powerful cannons on this Pokémon's back are capable of producing water blasts that can pierce steel and concrete and can be used for high-speed charges. Blastoise deliberately makes itself heavy to withstand these powerful blasts and to crush its opponents.

Upon evolving, Blastoise has learned: Hydro Pump and Surf." Ash grinned and ran up to Blastoise, congratulating him on evolving like he wanted to. After receiving their thanks from the island's Pokémon the gang went to the beach in order to go further. As they were about to leave the island there was a gasp as Ash and Brock turned around to see Misty in a staring contest with some random Psyduck. She slowly took out a Pokeball from her back pocket and tapped Psyduck with it, capturing it immediately. "Well… that was a thing" Misty mumbled, staring blankly at the Pokeball.

-Three days later-

Misty was skipping around happily as the gang finally arrived in Cerulean city. After arriving at Vermillion with Gyarados the gang traveled up to the city so Misty could visit her sisters and check that they were actually doing their job at the gym. It wasn't that she didn't trust them, they proved that they were at least competent in battling, as they showed devotion to actually battling but Misty couldn't help but be worried.

Walking into the gym the gang entered the gym, finding most areas to be empty so they decided to check the battlefield. When they entered the first thing that happened is that they were sprayed by water. Looking up towards the battlefield the gang saw Daisy and her Blastoise and a trainer with a fainted Jolteon on the other end of the battlefield. "Well, that settles that. But you can always come again whenever! I'd love to rematch you." She told the girl, making her smile slightly before she returned her Jolteon and exited the room.

"Misty!" Daisy called out, getting off the Gym Leader's side of the field and running over to Misty, hugging her. "I didn't know you'd be coming home this soon!" Daisy said, basically smothering Misty, who giggled and pushed Daisy back a little.

"Struggling to breathe here. But yeah, I'm back for a little while since we were near here anyway. I just wanted to come home and check on things. Where are Lilly and Violet?" Misty asked making Daisy sigh.

"They're both working on a water show we're putting on later today. The problem is, we hired somebody to help out with the show but they bailed last minute and there's nobody available, so we may have to cancel…" Daisy murmured sadly.

"Oh. That's a real shame. Could I help out somehow?" Misty asked, not wanting her sisters' hard work to go to waste.

"Well, it's not like you know how to control the lights and effects so I don't… Unless… You could take my place! Then I can take over the lights and effects since I know how most of it is done." Daisy said, grinning from ear to ear, proud of herself for having thought of the idea.

"What!? I couldn't possibly take your spot! I mean, I've never even been in a water ballet!" Misty chided, particularly against the idea.

"Pretty please! We don't have any other choice!" Daisy pleaded, even going down on her knees to beg Misty.

"Oh come on Misty, I'm sure you'd be great!" Ash said, trying to encourage her. Brock nodded and also contributed to the niceties.

"…Fine. But, you owe me." Misty grumbled out, leading Daisy to cheer loudly. Misty wouldn't cash in on the favor of course… probably, but she didn't want to give in too easily. This would be a nightmare, but her sisters were really invested in this so Misty couldn't just shut them down, especially since they had gotten their act together and become serious Gym Leaders for her.

And she didn't really regret this decision in retrospect. Two days later and they were all cleaning up after the last show, and it had gone fantastically. It was actually pretty fun acting and swimming with the Pokémon, and Misty had really bonded with Daisy's Seel. Misty, Ash, and Brock were now standing in front of the three sisters, about to part from them when suddenly they heard the cry of a familiar little seal and it's signature clapping. The Water-type walked up to her and stared while clapping. This went on for a short period of time until finally, Daisy got the gist of it.

"He wants to come with you. Would you like to take him with you on your journey?" Daisy asked as she looked at Misty, who was surprised as she looked at the water-type who was now hopping up and down happily.

"A-are you sure?" She asked and the seal Pokémon nodded, turning to Daisy who just smiled and returned him to his Pokeball, which she then handed to Misty. Misty smiled slightly and took the Pokeball, thanking her sister, who just shook her head and thanked Misty for helping with the play.

-3 weeks later-

It had been a week since the gang was in Cerulean City. It had taken them a week to get to Viridian city through the shortcut Misty led them through, and after arriving in the large city that Ash hadn't been in since the start of his journey Ash spent the next two weeks training as usual. During this time Ash had also stopped a robbery by a Rocket Grunt, who had said something about "Giovanni" and "meeting the boss at the gym". It took Ash no time to find out what the Grunt meant, he wasn't stupid after all, so Ash decided to help apprehend this Rocket boss while he had his Gym battle. And so, he trained harder than ever before.

Pikachu, the little speed demon, had become even more powerful, and even Sandslash, who was his second fastest Pokémon, couldn't even trace Pikachu's movements anymore. In addition, the little mouse was also a devastating attack force.

Both Fearow and Pidgeot had learned Hyper Beam and now learned on making the move even more powerful and reducing the refractory period after the move.

Butterfree was still working on moves and his powers, now having learned both Aerial Ace and Psychic to be able to deliver even more devastating combos.

Rampardos was also following in Butterfree's lead in that she spent most of her time learning new moves that could help her in battle, having learned Stomp, Slam and Ice Beam to help increase her move pool. Ice Beam would be especially useful, and she had gotten the hang of it relatively quickly actually.

Sandslash was working on his strength and power, having realized that catching up to Pikachu in speed would be tough, the shrew decided that it would be easier to try to beat the mouse in a contest of strength, also learning Shadow Claw as coverage.

Venusaur spent most of his time learning to get used to his body, in addition to learning Light Screen to help with defense and Energy Ball to gain some more long-distance moves, since that would be important because Venusaur would have a tougher time closing the distance.

Vespiquen spent her time training in her strength as well as battle strategy, learning Double team to help confuse the opponent and Signal Beam because it would be a generally useful move to know.

Charizard spent his time with moves and power, learning Steel Wing, Rock Tomb, and Double Team. The dragon felt better than ever, being evolved and powerful, and he had gotten so happy when he mastered his wings.

Blastoise was also getting used to his new body and his new firepower. His cannons packed a major punch and he was strong and since the turtle was so psyched about the cannons he spent most of his time focusing on them, learning Dragon Pulse and Flash Cannon through training with them.

Girafarig mainly just followed the team in learning new moves and improving her strength, though she focused a tab more on utility moves, such as Mean Look and Magic Bounce while also learning Razor Wind so she could pack a punch.

Seadra was fairing very well in training as well. She was working on land fighting still, while also learning more moves, such as Surf, Rain Dance and Signal Beam.

Litwick learned Protect and Curse, as well as just training in general. His flame was getting brighter and bigger, which signified upcoming evolution, though from what Ash read it would still be a little while until the little candle did evolve.

Mienshao worked on Double Team, as well as practicing Aerial Ace, since she was struggling with the Fire-type move a little bit, with the type being so opposite to her.

Ninetails worked more on the utility side of things, learning useful moves like Disable and Hypnosis and even Agility to help him in battle. He was also getting more and more dazzling by the day thanks to Ash's berry Pokémon food blend. Ash couldn't wait to get to Johto, the first region where he would participate in contests. Though, he wasn't really aiming for the Grand Festival, at least not during his Johto journey.

Eevee meanwhile worked on Iron Tail, Dig and Return, Iron Tail and Dig for more type-coverage and Return because Eevee, in general, were very friendship-reliant Pokémon so it only makes sense.

Rapidash learned Headbutt, Double Team, and Iron Tail and he was really happy with the way he was progressing as far as the power went, and his speed wasn't shabby either. Rapidash wasn't the biggest battler but he had fun most of the time. Though he still had the fire and determination, and with Ash's help, the fire horse was establishing himself as a powerhouse of the team.

Tauros was actually getting much more focused and calculated when battling and was much better at working with Ash. The bull was also a powerhouse, and there were no Pokémon on the team that could block his Take Down. The bull also managed t learn Stomping Tantrum and Iron Head, which again, would be good for coverage.

Rhyhorn, now that he was cooperative with Ash, worked extremely hard on bettering himself as a battler. The rhino was very strong and tough, but his move pool was lacking, so Ash and he worked together on it and in only two weeks time the rhino had managed to learn Headbutt, Horn Drill, Protect, Poison Jab and Stealth Rock. The rhino had been ecstatic over his progress, which is how Ash found out that while Rhyhorn appeared grumpy he was actually a huge softy.

Dratini, fierce little thing that she was, learned plenty of moves that packed a punch, learning Slam, Iron Tail and Headbutt, while also learning Protect just in case she would need it.

Happiny and Togepi were still young, but the two had become each other's sparring partners and together worked a bit on becoming better so that they could one day soon hopefully be in a real battle. Happiny learned Double-Slap and Soft-Boiled while Togepi learned Wish, Light Screen, and Yawn.

So, having trained and being ready to face Giovanni, Ash walked up to the gym, but before he could enter he gasped. There, on the steps up to the gym lay Gary Oak, obviously battered and bruised.

"Gary! What happened!?" Ash asked, running up to Gary, who groaned Ash helped him lean up a bit.

"The gym leader, he had some kind of monster with him… it's terrifying. Ash, please, you can't go in there." Gary pleaded, looking Ash in the eyes. Ash could see the fear in them, but there was no choice. At least his friend wasn't hurt by Team Rocket.

"Misty, Brock, take him to the Pokémon Center," Ash said as he stood and faced the gym, determination clear on his face. He would avenge his friends, and he would do his damn best to take out the Rocket Boss. He needed the element of surprise. It's why he wouldn't call the league until just before the battle started, though he already had the distress message typed out, he just needed to hit send.

"Ash, you heard him, you can't face him!" Misty cried out, but both her and Brock froze as Ash turned around. He looked so serious and determined.

"I know what I'm doing Misty, don't worry," Ash said, and after a beat, the girl relented and with Brock's help picked up the beaten trainer who was still on the stairs. Ash turned and walked inside, not looking back. This was it. This would either go as planned or really, really badly.

As he walked to the field he saw a man on the other side. Giovanny. "My name is Ash Ketchum, and I'm here for a gym battle," Ash called out, trying his best not to glare at the man who turned and smirked.

"Ah, another one. Shame I already told him to go back to the lab, but oh well." Giovanny mumbled to himself, though Ash managed to just barely catch it. He walked to the challenger's side of the field, with Giovanni taking his own position as well, with a referee taking his own place.

"This will be a four vs. four battle between the Gym Leader Giovanni and the challenger. The battle ends when all four of either side's Pokémon have fainted. Only the challenger is allowed to make substitutions. Begin!" The referee said, and just like that, the battle had started and Ash hit send, breathing in deeply. There was no going back.

"Rhydon, go," Giovanni said, tossing out his first Pokémon, a Rhydon who looked stone-cold. There wasn't even a trace of emotion in the Pokémon. Ash restrained a growl and sent out his first Pokémon.

"Venusaur, battle dance! Use Sunny Day, then use Sleep Storm!" Ash called out. Venusaur roared in a battle cry and launched into the order, first bathing the field in sunlight which briefly blinded all the people present and increasing Venusaur's speed. Then Venusaur launched into a blast of leaves, which contained traces of Sleep Powder in them.

"Take it," Giovanni said, most likely trying to gauge Ash's Pokémon and their power. Big mistake. The storm of leaves slammed into the Rhydon, who was pushed back from the force despite preparing himself for it. And, not having expected it, the rhino breathed in deeply in shock, immediately falling asleep due to the Sleep Powder. Giovanni's eyebrow raised in surprise, but the man gave no other reaction.

"Now, use Solar Beam!" Ash called out, and Venusaur immediately charged the powerful attack, even faster than usual due to the Sunny Day. Venusaur launched the beam at the sleeping Pokémon, who yelled in pain form the powerful, 4x effective attack. When the attack was done Rhydon laid there, despite having been awoken.

"Well, well, well. I underestimated you. My mistake. Machamp, your turn." Giovanni said, returning Rhydon before sending out a powerful looking Machamp, who was just as emotionless. "Fire Punch, don't stop," Giovanni ordered and the Machamp launched to follow the order, it's fists burning with fire.

"Energy Ball, point blank!" Ash ordered. Venusaur charged the Energy ball and launched it at Machamp when he closed the gap, but the large Pokémon barely flinched as he started hitting Venusaur with the flaming fists. "Petal Dance!" Ash called out. Venusaur whipped up a blizzard of petals around himself, basically blocking Machamp's access to Venusaur's body. The fighting type kept punching the petals, slowly burning down the wall. Venusaur tried his best but in the end, the petals all were on fire, and what was once a wall became a dancing pillar of flame, with Venusaur caught in the middle. When it all dissipated Venusaur laid there, fainted.

"Venusaur, return! You did great." Ash said, smiling at the Pokeball after he returned Venusaur before tucking it away and taking out his next Pokeball. "Blastoise, your turn, battle dance!" Ash called, sending out Blastoise who immediately launched a Rain Dance, as per plan.

"Cross-chop," Giovanni said, and Machamp once again launched to follow the orders, but this time Ash wouldn't let him get close.

"Counter shield, full power." Blastoise retreated into his shell and went into a Gyro Spin while also using Hydro Pump. Machamp was blasted back by the huge pressure, while still getting whipped again and again by the water, which kept flying all around.

"Now, Water Pulse!" Ash called out, but he gasped as Blastoise went out of his shell, and instead of the usual Water Pulse Blastoise formed two orbs that looked much more powerful than usual. The two orbs launched at breakneck speed, slamming and exploding into Machamp, who was blasted into a wall.

"You learned Hydro Cannon! Way to go Blastoise!" Ash called out but before he could say anything else Machamp launched out of the dust that had risen from the attack and punched Blastoise with a powerful Thunder Punch. "Blastoise! Counter with Aqua Bash!" Ash called out, and Blastoise launched into an Aqua Jet and Skull Bash combo, which really hurt Machamp when it slammed into the Pokémon, who finally went down.

"Well then, you really are a powerful trainer. Kingler." Giovanni said, sending out his next Pokémon. "Use Agility, then launch into Superpower," Giovanni said. Kinglor sped towards Blastoise, getting faster and faster while also glowing red before he reached Blastoise and hit him with the Superpower, which pushed Blastoise back a few paces and made the turtle groan in pain. "Blastoise, Flash Cannon!" Ash called out. Blastoise crouched down, cannons pointed at Kingler, who was promptly blown back by a ball of light, which exploded on the crab. "Now, Dragon Pulse, don't stop," Ash ordered. Blastoise went to follow, sending orb after orb of draconic energy at the crab. "Endure, close the gap." Kingler took the blasts while running towards Blastoise, closing the gap between them. "Guillotine," Giovanni said, making Ash gasp as Kingler's big claw glowed white as it grabbed Blastoise by the neck and slammed the turtle down, making him faint due to the one-hit K.O move.

"Blastoise! Return, you did amazing!" Ash called out, returning the injured Pokémon. "Tauros, battle dance!" Ash called out his next Pokémon, the mighty bull bellowed and stomped his legs.

"Take Down, then into Stomping Tantrum." Tauros bellowed again and ran towards Kingler, slamming into the grab before beginning to jump around and stomp on the ground and Kingler, battering the crab.

"Crabhammer," Giovanni ordered. Kingler's claw started glowing blue, bubbling slightly as water gathered on it.

"Counter with Wild Charge!" Tauros was enveloped in bright yellow electricity, charging at the crab, who was also charging his way. The two attacks collided, causing an explosion. When the smoke cleared Tauros stood proudly, but the electricity coursed through him, damaging the bull. Kingler meanwhile was fainted on the ground, his legs twitching slightly.

"Return. Nidoking." Giovanni said, sending out his last Pokémon, a ferocious looking Nidoking. "Earthquake," Giovanni ordered. Nidoking slammed his foot into the ground, which started shaking violently, causing Tauros to stumble around. "Poison Jab." Nidoking ran at Tauros, jabbing the bull with his fist, which was glowing a toxic purple.

"Iron Down!" Tauros charged, his head glowing with a steel-like coating as the bull slammed into Nidoking with a combo of Take Down and Iron Head. Nidoking stumbled back, groaning in pain before raising his head and glaring at the bull.

"Focus Blast." Nidoking brought his hands together, creating an orb of energy and launching it at Tauros, said orb homing in towards the bull.

"Take Down to run from it, head towards Nidoking." Tauros started running immediately, running up to Nidoking. "Jump!" Tauros jumped over Nidoking, who was promptly blasted with the energy.

"Brick Break." Nidoking turned around, chopping down on Tauros's back, the bull buckling under the powerful attack.

"Stomping Tantrum!" Tauros raised his hindquarters and kicked at Nidoking while standing up, thrashing at the opposing Pokémon's body. Nidoking flinched but grabbed the bull by his legs and threw him away.

"Thunder," Giovanni ordered. Nidoking charged up the mighty blast and blasted Tauros with it. The bull bellowed in pain throughout the attacks, and it seemed that Nidoking was unrelenting. "Stop it! I forfeit Tauros!" Ash called out and the Thunder stopped immediately. Ash sighed in relief, not having expected Giovanni to actually follow the rules since he was the boss of Team Rocket and all. It seemed the man didn't want to draw unnecessary attention. Too late. "Charizard, battle dance!" Charizard came out, releasing a mighty roar.

"Steel Ace! Follow it with Dragon Burst!" Ash called out. Charizard charged, with his Aerial Ace and Steel Wing combo slamming into Nidoking, who fell on his back from the power of the combo. Charizard stood above him, glaring coldly while purple flames escaped his maw. Charizard opened his mouth and released the attack, bathing Nidoking in Draconic flames. The opposing pokemon whimpered in pain from the attack, promptly fainting from the blast as it had been damaged a lot in the fight between itself and Tauros.

Giovanni returned the Pokémon without a word as the referee declared Ash as the victor. The Gym Leader walked up to Ash, who tensed slightly but remained neutral. It would be unwise to reveal anything. Dammit, when were the League officials going to get here?

"You did very well against my Pokémon. Even when you were down, you still managed to figure out what the correct next step is. That isn't something all young trainers can pull off." Giovanni said. Ash refrained from raising an eyebrow. A compliment? It was a sweet enough statement, and Ash would have been proud, had it been from literally anybody else.

"Thank you, it was a great battle. Your Pokémon followed commands flawlessly, they've been trained well." More like mind-broken. But it's not like Ash would say that out loud. Those Pokémon were no more than mindless puppets. And the man in front of him was the one who was pulling the strings. How awful. Hopefully, those Pokémon could be helped.

"Yes, they are," Giovanni said, rather smugly. The bastard, Ash was sick to his stomach. Before Ash could reply, a Rocket grunt burst into the scene. "Boss, we've been found out!" The Grunt said but before Giovanni could reply Ash sprang into action.

"Charizard," Ash called out and the dragon charged, pinning Giovanni under him, preventing the man from moving as Charizard opened his maw and positioned himself over the man's head, ready to bite down at any sign of resistance. Thankfully Giovanni caught on and didn't move. Ash walked over and took the badge that Giovanni had in his hand before standing and releasing the rest of his Pokémon. Rampardos, Vespiquen, Pidgeot, Girafarig, Seadra, Mienshao, Rapidash and Pikachu all gathered around, ready to prevent anybody from Team Rocket foolish enough to try and help their leader.

Suddenly League officials burst into the room, and at their lead was Lance, the Kanto and Johto Champion. Again. Ash smiled and waved at him, making the man grin back. Lance barked some orders at the officials who went and apprehended Giovanny, with Ash calling off Charizard.

"You know, it seems you have something personal against Team Rocket. After all, we keep meeting while you're taking them down." Lance said, smirking at Ash as the man walked over to him. Ash froze slightly and looked away, because well, it was easier talking to him when Ash didn't have to look at the man. He was quite an imposing and intimidating figure. "I have something personal against every person who abuses and treats Pokémon poorly. Team Rocket treats then like tools and possessions. They treat Pokémon as if they are just a means of making money. That is unacceptable." Ash said, and it was true. Well, for the most part at least. Ash knew of two Team Rocket agents and their cat who weren't as bad as the others.

"Well said. Though, this isn't really your job you know. I'm grateful because Arceus knows we wouldn't have been able to catch the Team Rocket boss if you hadn't figured out who it was, but you shouldn't have put yourself in danger like this. You started your journey this year, it's not your job. To go around saving the day." Lance said making Ash sigh but then freeze up suddenly.

"How do you know when I started my journey?" Ash asked, suddenly suspicious of the man. Lance blushed and looked away, scratching at the back of his head awkwardly and coughing slightly.

"W-well it's my job to know about promising young trainers. And besides, you do have a penchant for playing hero you know. The Tentacruel incident, Team Rocket in the Game Corner and probably plenty of other times too, knowing you." Lance said, looking at Ash as though Lance had just won an argument.

"So, you've been stalking me," Ash said rather bluntly, causing Lance to blush again and start denying it vehemently, saying it wasn't like that. "I know, I'm joking. Still, what you did could be considered creepy you know." Ash said cheekily, causing Lance to sigh in exasperation.

"You're mean," Lance grumbled but straightened up after a beat, now looking at Ash much more calculatingly. "I look forward to seeing how far you'll go. And don't worry, we'll hold your name out of the official incident report so that you can avoid trouble with the Team Rocket members who remain free. There are probably loads of them." Lance said. Ash looked at him and nodded, feeling the severity of the situation. After all, who knows what a group of spiteful criminals is capable of.

"Anyway, I'll be speaking to the League about this, figure out how to reward you, though if you keep going like this we'll be all out of recourses rewarding you all the time" Lance joked, making Ash giggle.

"Well, maybe you guys should try to beat me to it next time. Not my fault you're a little slow." Ash said, grinning at the taller man. He was probably pushing his luck, but he felt comfortable talking to Lance, the man was easy to talk to and surprisingly pretty funny.

"Wow, you are mean," Lance said dryly, staring him down before both of them burst out laughing. "Well, it's time for me to go, but I will be seeing you soon hopefully," Lance said, waving goodbye to Ash, who also said his goodbyes. Well, at least he got his last badge.

-Three days later-

Ash smiled. He was finally back home in Pallet Town. A lot had happened during the last three days. Getting chastised by Brock and Misty, waiting for Gary to recover, bonding with the group, training a little bit, traveling back from Viridian City, helping a Mr. Mime avoid a circus, getting said Mr. Mime to agree to work for his mother, and finishing his travel back to Pallet.

So here he was, in front of his home with Misty, Brock, and Mr. Mime in tow. He rang the doorbell and immediately the door was opened by Ash's mom, who hugged him and wouldn't let him go. "Mom, you're embarrassing me," Ash mumbled but didn't really do anything to push her away. He missed her, having been away from home all this time. It was weird, not being with her. "I got you a gift of sorts," Ash said, pulling away slightly to reveal Mr. Mime, who waved happily at his mom, who smiled and cooed at the Pokémon. Ash smiled, knowing that now she would have company and another protector, the others being her own Pokémon.

"Well, I've made lunch for everybody so come in, make yourselves at home. I would love to hear about my baby's journey, and whether or not he's been doing things that were dangerous." Deliah said, with a slight glare thrown Ash's way, making the boy groan because yes, he had been doing dangerous things.

Their stay in Pallet Town was relaxing, and getting to play around and relax for a few days was great, but soon enough it was time for Ash and the gang to leave so he said his goodbyes and together with Misty and Brock he departed for the Pokémon League. However, on the outskirts of Pallet, on a small hill, was none other than Gary Oak, waiting for them, seeming quite nervous. Brock and Misty exchanged knowing looks behind Ash's back as the group walked up to the boy. "Ash! Gramps told me you were heading towards the league, and I wanted to talk to you. In private, if that's alright." Gary mumbled, making Ash raise his eyebrow. He had known Gary to be many things, but shy and bashful weren't any of them.

"Alright. Pikachu, go and wait here with Misty and Brock. I'll be back in a little bit." Ash said to his partner, who nodded and hopped off Ash's shoulder, going over to Misty and Brock, who had sat under the shadow of a large tree next to the path. Ash and Gary walked a little ways away, enough to be out of earshot.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Asked Ash, looking at Gary in confusion. He was rather curious, considering usually Gary was either avoiding or mocking Ash, so conversations between the two weren't really all that common. Not anymore at least.

"Firstly, I wanted to apologize for what I've done to you. For everything I've done to you." Gary said, surprising Ash. Apologetic was another adjective that Ash wouldn't use to describe Gary.

"I know I don't deserve forgiveness, but I'd love to be able to be friends with you again. I've been an asshole, and that's not okay. I should never have treated you like that but the truth is I…" Gary paused, mulling over what he was going to say next. Ash watched expectantly, curious about the explanation to something Ash had been wondering about for ages.

"There are many reasons for the rift between us, but I've realized now that they were all on me. You had no fault in it, and I'm really sure to have put all my bullshit on you. It's just… I've always done my best to make Gramps proud but he always seemed to favor you. I was jealous because you were always better at everything. And… I couldn't stand the thought of liking you and being jealous at the same time. Because I do like you, it's impossible not to. You're like this bright ray of sunshine and you've always been able to cheer me up." Gary rambled on, his fists clenched at his side, enough to where Ash could tell that he was near drawing blood. He was also startled by the revelations, and did Gary mean he liked Ash… like that?

"Gary, it's ok. There's nothing to forgive because everything you've done I've forgiven immediately. Your grandfather loves you. He always talks about you when I'm around him. You should hear the pride in his voice when he talks about you. And… I like you too but… I would like to get to know you again. Start anew, or something like that. Try to be friends first." Ash said softly and Gary, teary-eyed and all gave him a watery smile and nodded. "Well, I guess that means you'll be traveling with us from now on, after all, how else are we going to get to know each other?" Ash said, smiling brightly making Gary let out a choked laugh.

"Yeah, I'd like that," Gary said, smiling at Ash. Maybe there was hope for their friendship after all.


	10. Chapter 10

Ash sighed as he sat down on the picnic table next to his friends. He had just finished a battle against a trainer who was around the area and he was starving. It's a good thing Brock was just finished making his best stew. Here they were atop a hill, gathered around a picnic table as they ate, all their Pokémon a little ways away, eating their own food.

"This is amazing." Groaned Gary, who was stuffing his face with the wonderful meal. "I've only ever had something this good at Aunt Dehlia's house." He said, making Ash smile. He remembered back when he and Gary were friends, when they would visit each other or have sleepovers at Ash's house, Ash's mom would always cook them something delicious. She always was an amazing cook.

"I know! Dehlia's cooking is amazing! No offense Brock. I mean, your cooking is amazing too." Misty said, poking her tongue out at Brock. She had gotten to experience Dehlia's cooking herself when they visited Ash's house.

"Oh, none taken. I mean, even I thought her cooking was great." Brock said, making Ash grin proudly, happy that everybody liked his mom so much.

"Anyway, we're not that far away from the League. It should only be a few days trip, while there are over three weeks before the League starts. At this rate, we'll get to train a bunch before the league starts and…" Ash froze up and turned to look at the sky. Right there in the horizon was a Dragonite, flying towards them. "Guys, incoming! Get ready in case it's an attack!" Ash called out, standing up quickly to prepare as his Pokémon swarmed around him, ready to go on the offensive.

The Dragonite came to a full stop next to the group and just stood there, two letters in his hand. The large dragon just stretched out his hand and watched them expectantly. Catching on to what the dragon wanted Ash walked over warily and took the two letters. The Dragonite smiled at him and just… flew off.

"Who the hell uses a Dragonite as a messenger!?" Gary exclaimed, staring at the spot where the Dragonite just was.

"Well, I don't know, but look! These letters are addressed to me and you." Ash said, handing the one with Gary's name on it to him while opening his own. In the letter, there was a small device. Ash picked it up and suddenly a hologram of a woman appeared from it.

"Please forgive me for the abrupt letter. Since you are a promising Pokémon trainer of the future, we'd like to invite you to a party held by my master who is the strongest Pokémon trainer in the world. The place is the New Island, Pokémon Castle. Please check the reply card for whether you're coming or not. Please accept this invitation from the strongest trainer in the world. There is a plus one included." She said and disappeared, in her place, the reply card appeared, with two checkboxes.

"Well, what do you think? It sounds kind of shady, but it also sounds too good to pass up. Plus, it would be fun to see who's proclaiming themselves to be the strongest trainer in the world. Besides, this is apparently a party for a lot of other strong trainers, so considering all of that we should be safe. What do you say, guys?" Ash asked, looking to the rest of the group. In truth, he felt a strange sort of pull to visit the party. It was like a magnetic forcing, pulling him there.

"Yeah, why not? We have time to spare anyway." Gary said, and the other two shrugged, kind of peeved off not to have been invited, but the plus one would come in handy.

"Well, let's go! We can catch a ferry there from the town nearby." Ash said, running back to the table and eating his food quickly, before running off to clean up, with the others following his lead and packing up camp.

-Somewhere far away-

"It has finally begun." A voice boomed, staring down at the world below.

"My lord, are you sure this is wise? Mewtwo is rabid right now. He could harm the Chosen One." Another voice, distinctly female called out.

"He will survive. And if not, then he is not really the Chosen One after all. Have faith, dear Ho-oh." the voice said, making the large bird bow, along with the others that were gathered.

"Yes, Lord Arceus." She said, watching their lord as he looked on at the world below. What will become of the child she blessed. She could only hope he would live up to his title and make it out alright. Otherwise, there would be dire consequences for the world.

"A human against a legend? My lord, you must know that he will die, even if this… clone is a legend." Another voice, this one cold and devoid of emotion rang through the Hall of Origin, making all heads turn to Kuyrem, who was watching their lord.

"Do not question me. And if you are against the human so much do not fret, Kuyrem. He is the Chosen One, you will see. This world is dying Kuyrem, even you must be able to feel it. This human is the one who shall repair the world and prevent all the horrid events to come. He will even be the one to free me from my prison. I will once again be among you, not only in spirit, though that is not for a while yet." "Really Papa? You'll be with us again!?" Mew asked, floating up to the God Pokémon, who smiled at the small cat.

"Yes, I will be." He said, making Mew cheer. "Mew, I have a task for you. Go, and battle Mewtwo, observe today's events first hand. Don't overexert yourself though. We can't afford to trigger the Tree in Rota's death quite yet." Arceus said, making Mew nod and turn serious over the task.

"Now, let us see what the Chosen one will do," Arceus said, once again peering down at the world below. It has finally begun.

-Back to Ash and the Gang-

The group ran inside of the side house, where a bunch of trainers were holed up, waiting. Just as they ran in they noticed Officer Jenny and another woman standing in front of the crowd. The woman was talking to them

" Listen to me. The prophets have predicted the return of the Winds of Water. For years l prayed mankind would never witness that deadly storm ever again." She said.

"isn't that just a legend?" Asked a girl up front.

"Ancient writings tell of the storm wiping out all but a few Pokémon. ln their sorrow the water of their tears restored the lives lost in the storm. But there are no Pokémon tears today. Just waters which no one can survive." She said.

"I'm sorry everybody, but due to the storm the ferry has been canceled." Officer Jenny told the group, making them all either groan or protest.

"Huh, the ferry's been canceled?" A guy from the crowd shouted.

"We can't go to New Island?" Shouted another girl. "I'm Miranda. If you want to know about the sea ask the seagulls on the pier. Actually, no need to bother. Just look at the flaws of the clouds. I've never seen such a hurricane in all my years." The blue haired woman next to Officer Jenny said.

"Is it that terrible." Officer Jenny asked, as even she looked at Miranda in bewilderment.

"I grew up on a port and I've never experienced such a storm. Besides the storm is above New Island offshore of this pier. I can't let you be placed in danger. That's my wish as the one who guards this pier." Miranda said, watching the trainers and their reactions, knowing in her heart that she could sadly not do a thing to stop them.

"Well, as you heard, the ferry is canceled," Jenny said, causing a few trainers to groan and give up.

"It's okay with my Pokémon. My Pokémon are stronger in water. I can cross the sea." A boy said, walking off, well, running off towards the pier, along with a few others.

"Wait. I'm the one who knows the sea and I say no!" Miranda said, trying to stop them, though it was futile.

"She's right! Besides if the Pokémon were to get hurt now they wouldn't be able to get treatment at a Pokémon Center." Jenny said, making Ash and the gang look at her strangely.

"What do you mean?" Asked Ash, who was curious about the whole situation.

"Nurse Joy at the Pokémon Center is missing. Pokémon can't receive treatment without Nurse Joy. The poster over there is the missing person report." Jenny said offhandedly as she ran off towards the trainers who left with Miranda in tow.

The gang walked over to the poster and Brock gasped. "She… I've seen her somewhere before." He said making Misty groan.

"Yeah, she's a Nurse Joy. They all look the same. It's weird, we get it." She said, shaking her head in exasperation.

"No! It's not like that. Every one of them is different in some way, and even though I've never been here before I feel like I've seen her somewhere before, but I can't place it." Brock said, making the group quiet down and stare at the poster. "Well, whatever, let's go. We have a party to get to, and no storm is going to stop us. We can ride on our Pokémon." Said Gary, and the group, some more reluctantly than others, followed him out to the pier. Misty released her Gyarados, while Ash and Gary each released their own Blastoise and got on them, while Brock also got on Gyarados.

"Stop! Stop or I'll arrest you!" They heard Officer Jenny say, but she was stopped by Miranda.

"There's no use trying to stop them. After all, they're Pokémon trainers. If they were children who would stop after being told to, they wouldn't have gathered here. Let's just pray for there safety. To them, this is just one more challenge. They follow their hearts. That is what sets them apart and will make them Pokémon masters." She said, peering out at the water.

Misty, Brock, Ash, and Gary traveled across the ocean for a little while, but soon enough they saw New island and the castle on top of it. They saw a cave entrance and pointed their Pokémon over to it. It was slightly difficult to navigate with the storm and all but they had somehow managed it.

As they entered the cave they were greeted by the sight of a small pier along with the woman from the hologram waiting for them. As they hopped off their Pokémon and returned them she walked over to them.

"Welcome to New Island. Please show me your invitation." She said, humming in approval when Ash and Gary each handed her their invite.

"You look just like her…" Mumbled Brock, making the group stare at him. "That picture of Nurse Joy I saw in the missing person report at the pier was you." He said, making the group gasp and look at her and yes, she matched the description and picture to a tee.

" I don't know what you're talking about. I've been serving this castle ever since I was born. Come this way. The other guests are already waiting." She said and walked off hurriedly. The gang looked at each other but in the end, they didn't have much of a choice and just followed after her. As they reached the top of the stairs the door opened and they walked inside, only to be greeted by a large dining hall with only three trainers from inside, all of which were at the seaside house.

"Everybody had arrived." She said and walked a little ways away. "Everybody? There are only three other people here!" Ash exclaimed, getting progressively more and more creeped out by the situation.

"The trainers who couldn't cross that storm aren't worth inviting." She said as if it was that simple.

"So, you tested us?" Asked Brock, who looked horrified, and honestly, he was, as were the others. "People risked their lives in that storm! And you're telling me it was all a test?" He said angrily, glaring at the woman.

"Release your Pokémon from their pokéballs and join the others. lt won't be long before my master's intentions are clear." She said and walked off, paying them no mind. The gang growled but sighed and walked up to the table, seeing no other choice.

"Well, I guess we're all here then." Said a boy who was seated at the table. "I'm Corey. I flew here. My Pidgeot can cross a hurricane like this no problem. Everyone greet them!" He said and said Pidgeot, along with a Scyther, a Hitmonlee, a Venusaur, a Sandslash and a Rhyhorn to cry out their greetings.

"I'm Fergus. That's my Gyarados. I rode him across the sea. Those kind of waves are nothing for it. The others over there are mine as well." He said pointing to the fountain where a group of six Pokemon was. The group consisted of a Gyarados, a Golduck, a Tentacruel, a Seadra, a Vaporeon, and a Nidoqueen.

"Well, guess it's my turn for introductions." The only other girl besides Misty said. "I'm Neesha, My Pokémon are over there." She said, pointing at another group of Pokémon beside the fountain. This group was more diverse in typing than the last and consisted of a Blastoise, a Wigglytuff, a Dewgong, a Vileplume, a Ninetails and a Rapidash.

"Well, I guess we should let out our Pokémon too. Besides, we can't exactly be comfortable here, so having them out in case something happens is a good idea." Ash said, calling out his party, which currently consisted of Pikachu, who was on his shoulder, Charizard, Fearow, Pidgeot, Vespiquen, Rampardos, Ninetails, Tauros, Rhyhorn, Rapidash, Butterfree, Mienshao, and Eevee having only brought thirteen and keeping one slot open.

The others followed his lead. Misty called out Staryu, Starmie, Gyarados, Seaking, Horsea, Vileplume, Vaporeon, Psyduck, and Seel. Those were the ones she had on her, as Kabuto, Omanyte, and Togepi were at Professor Oak's since the man wanted to research them when the group visited. Brock let out Steelix, Geodude, Zubat, Paras, Ninetails, Nosepass, Diglett, Slugma and Shuckle, and Gary let out Blastoise, Arcanine, Nidoking, Umbreon, Dodrio and Magmar.

"That's… a lot of Pokémon." Said Neesha as she bent down and started petting Ash's Eevee. Meanwhile, most of Misty's Pokémon went into the fountain and enjoyed a swim.

"Thank you for waiting everyone." The woman said as she stood in front of the dining table on a podium between two pillars. "The strongest Pokémon trainer is coming." She said and suddenly there was a figure floating down from the top of the ceiling behind the woman. It was a Pokémon. It is a bipedal, humanoid creature with some feline features. It is primarily gray with a long, purple tail. On top of its head are two short, blunt horns, and it has purple eyes. All the Pokémon seemed to tense, and even Ash could feel the power radiating off of this Pokémon.

"Yes, this is the strongest Pokémon trainer and strongest Pokémon. Mr. Mewtwo." The woman said, making the group gasp. The strongest trainer, the one who invited them here was… a Pokémon?

"Mewtwo? I wasn't aware of that Pokémon species." Said Ash, and he was really weirded out actually since he knew of most if not all Pokémon species.

"A Pokémon is a pokémon trainer? It can't be." Said Fergus, who was glaring at Mewtwo.

"Quiet, human. From now on, l am the one who makes the rules." Rumbled a voice, but nobody had spoken. "Telepathy?" Guessed Ash as he looked at Mewtwo, who was staring at them coldly, but the Pokémon's stare was especially directed at Fergus, who was suddenly surrounded in a blue glow and floated before promptly being throw in the fountain.

"Oh hell no! Go Gyarados! Hyper Beam!" Fergus yelled, glaring at Mewtwo. Gyarados charged a Hyper Beam and shot it towards Mewtwo, but the Pokémon made no move to dodge it. Rather, he just glanced at the attack and raised his hand, taking control of its direction and sending it back at Gyarados, fainting the large sea serpent.

"That was easy." Mewtwo's voice rang through their heads once more. He then turned to the woman. "I don't need you anymore." And with a glow of his eyes, she faints, falling down and into Brock's arms. Her cap fell off, revealing the signature hair of Nurse Joy.

"W-what is this place? Why am I here?" Nurse Joy asked as she slowly woke up.

"To make you take care of me, I took you from the Pokémon Center. A doctor who is familiar with pokémon is convenient. You were quite useful, for a human. l have cleansed your tiny human brain of memories from the past weeks." Mewtwo said, looking at the woman, who became wide-eyed and gasped in horror.

"What did you say?" Asked Brock with a growl, glaring at the Pokémon.

"Humans can be manipulated in any way with my power," Mewtwo stated, as though he was entirely unbothered by the situation at hand.

"What power?" Asked Misty, hoping the Pokémon would reveal that and so that maybe they could gain an edge over it. From beside Ash Pikachu glared and shouted. Mewtwo turned to the yellow mouse and looked to be in consideration for a moment before the voice rang in their minds once again.

"I thought of working with humans once. But I was disappointed. Humans are the worst creatures. Inferior to Pokémon in every way. If creatures that are as weak and cruel as humans control this world, this planet will come to ruin. You, humans, are a dangerous species. You brought me into your world with no purpose but to be your slave. But now l have my own purpose. My storm will create my own world… by destroying yours." Mewtwo stated, apparently answering Pikachu.

"So what? You're going to wipe out all humans to save Pokémon?" Ash asked, staring at the madman… well, mad Pokémon. Mewtwo shook his head.

"Your Pokémon will not be spared. They have disgraced themselves by serving humans. Those Pokémon are nothing but slaves." Mewtwo stated, making several Pokémon in the group growl, though only Pikachu spoke up.

"So, you say l am wrong? You are not this human's servant? You are his friend? You are as pathetic as the rest. Humans and Pokémon can never be friends." Said Mewtwo, staring at Pikachu. He then lifted the Pokémon with his Psychic abilities but Ash quickly went up on the table and jumped to catch him.

"Weak Pokémon rely on humans." Said Mewtwo once again, staring at the scene in front of him.

"Ash are you ok!?" Asked Misty when she ran over to the boy.

"No. He attacked Pikachu." Said Ash, but before he could do anything Corey interrupted.

"We can catch him no matter what kind of Pokémon he is, as long as he's a Pokémon, GO RYHORN!" He shouted and Rhyhorn charged but froze just short of Mewtwo as the Pokémon raised Rhyhorn into the air and threw him clean across the room.

"It's no use. I was born as the strongest of any Pokémon in the world." He said.

"You don't know that before we try." Said Ash, knowing full well he was Poking the bear. Mewtwo looked at him, and it almost seemed like he was surprised.

"You want to try?" The Pokémon asked, staring at Ash.

"You bet I do!" Said Ash and he watched as Mewtwo's eyes glowed and he disappeared. A moment later he reappeared, and from the floor, there was a Venusaur, a Charizard and a Blastoise were raised up to stand before the group. They looked strong and had weird markings on their bodies.

"Like most Pokémon trainers… l too began with Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur. But with their evolved forms… l used their genetic material to clone even more powerful copies." Mewtwo stated.

"Copies!?" Asked Misty, who was terrified by this whole ordeal.

"They're clones." Said Ash, glaring at Mewtwo.

Suddenly a door opened and the group was teleported into a colosseum on the other side of the doors. "I'll go first. I was careless before, but it won't go that way this time. Bruteroot, you're up! Your fake Venusaur can't beat my real one!" Said Corey as he got into position. Mewtwo motioned to his Venusaur who also walked up to the field.

"Bruteroot, Razor Leaf!" Shouted Corey. His Venusaur let out a volley of razor-sharp leaves towards the weirdly marked Venusaur.

"Vine Whip." Said Mewtwo and his Venasaur followed the command, whipping at the leaves to stop them before wrapping the vines again Corey's Venusaur and throwing him away, making him faint.

"O-one blow?" Mumbled Corey, bewildered.

"My turn! Shellshocker, Hydro Pump!" Yelled Neesha as she pointed at Mewtwo's Blastoise.

"Rapid Spin." Said Mewtwo and his Blastoise began spinning, going right through the water and slamming into Neesha's Blastoise, sending it flying into a wall.

Ash walked up to the challenger's side with determination, Charizard in tow.

"You better forfeit Ash, those clones are too powerful!" Yelled Gary, who was staring at Ash in concern.

"I'm not giving up. We can't let him win!" Called out Ash and then turned back to Mewtwo.

"Charizard, use your speed, not power, and we'll have a shot at winning this! Now, fly!" Ash called out and Charizard launched into the air, along with the cloned Charizard.

"Flamethrower!" Ash called out and Charizard shot out Flamethrower after Flamethrower, but most of them barely grazed the enemy Charizard. The other Charizard went in with a Fire Punch and hit Charizard, who roared in pain and was knocked away but still remained in the sky.

"Double Team into Steel Ace! Then use Dragon Shadow Claw!" Yelled Ash, hoping that they actually did have a chance. Charizard multiplied and all the copies flew at the clone, who looked at them all in confusion until they all converged and the real one slammed into the clone with the Steel Wing and Aerial Ace combo. Before the cloned Charizard could do anything Charizard then hit him with a Shadow Claw and Dragon Claw combo, making the clone roar in pain.

"I am impressed, but this has gone on for far too long. Seismic Toss." Said Mewtwo. The clone Crazirad grinned viciously and grabbed Ash's Charizard, dive bombing downward and slamming him into the ground, causing him to faint. "No! Charizard!" Ash yelled out, quickly returning him.

"As the victor, l now claim my prize. Your Pokémon." Said Mewtwo and suddenly a bunch of weird pokeballs appeared around him.

"Wait! What will you do with those Pokémon?!" Asked Ash as he watched on in horror.

"l will extract their DNA to make clones for myself. They will remain safe on this island… while my storm destroys the planet." Said Mewtwo, glaring at the group.

"No! You can't do this!" Said Ash, standing defiantly in front of the Pokémon.

"Do not attempt to defy me. This is my world now." Said Mewtwo and the pokeballs flew off towards the Pokémon, capturing them one by one.

"He can't catch them inside of their pokeballs!" Yelled Misty and she hurried to retrieve her Pokémon, the others following suit but it was no use, as even the returned Pokémon were captured as the weird pokeballs surrounded the old ones.

"Pikachu, run!" Yelled Ash in desperation as all around him all the Pokémon were captured. The yellow mouse nodded and ran off, Ash attempting to follow behind him. The mouse kept running and running, over tables, up pillars, but in the end, it was no use as Mewtwo's pokeballs caught up to him and caught him.

"No!" Ash said and jumped down the pillar that he and Pikachu had been running across. He grabbed at the pokeball, trying to wrestle it open and release his partner, but nothing worked as he was carried off with the pokeballs. He was so scared. What if he would never see his Pokémon again?

He was transported down into a lab, onto a machine that was like a conveyor belt, where he tried to pry Pikachu's pokeball away from the prying machines, but he couldn't. As the machine scanned the pokeball Ash watched. But suddenly he felt his strength return to him. No way he would let this Pokemon steal away his friends! He crawled over to the Pokeball and with all his might ripped it away from the machine, causing the whole thing to break. Ash smirked. Maybe they had a chance after all.

-Back with Mewtwo and the rest-

The clones walked into the stadium one by one, lining up behind Mewtwo.

"Humans, you have served my purpose. l am sparing your lives, for the moment. But you cannot escape your fate. The hour of my vengeance draws near. Behold! With Pokémon and humans eliminated… the clones shall inherit the world." Mewtwo said grandiosely when suddenly an explosion was heard.

"You can't do that! I won't let you!" Called out a voice. The group turned and gasped as they saw Ash standing tall and proud, with all the originals backing him up. He glared at Mewtwo.

"It is useless to challenge me." Said Mewtwo, but there was a distinct growl in his voice as he glared at Ash.

"It's not going to end like this, Mewtwo. We won't let it." Said Ash and all the originals ran in, starting to fight the clones.

"You're mine!" Growled out Mewtwo and launched a ball of pink energy at Ash. Ash gasped and braced himself, but the impact never came. He opened his eyes and gasped once more as he saw Mew, standing before him, shielding him from the attack. He looked around and noticed he was high up, on one of the carvings on the stadium.

"Mew. So finally we meet. l may have been cloned from your DNA… but l will prove that Mewtwo is better than the original." Said Mewtwo, glaring at the Psychic cat who just tilted its head cutely.

"Superior to Mew. Mew and Mewtwo!" Gasped Ash in realization as he looked on at the two Pokémon, while the others also gasped as they realized what this meant.

"So Mewtwo was cloned from Mew." Said Brock, voicing everybody's thoughts.

"The world is too small for two of us." Said Mewtwo and charged at Mew, Shadow Ball at the ready. Mew giggled and flew off, causing Mewtwo to growl and follow after.

"Why do you flee from me? Are you afraid to find out which of us is greater?" Mewtwo taunted, causing Mew to turn and start firing attacks back at its clone.

"So you do have some fight in you. But l have no time for games. Destiny is at hand. Who will rule? My super Pokémon? Or your pathetic group of spineless inferior Pokémon? We were created with powers far stronger than the originals after all." Said Mewtwo, watching Mew who shook its head and cried out at Mewtwo, trying to explain.

"Mew's got a good point." Said Meowth, because apparently, Team Rocket were here too.

"What's it saying?" Asked James as he watched Meowth curiously.

"It's saying you don't prove anything by showing off a lot of special powers. And that a Pokémon's real strength comes from the heart." Explained Meowth, making the group turn once more to stare at the two Pokemon. Mewtwo glared at the smaller Psychic cat.

"My clones don't need their powers to prove their worth. l will block all the Pokémon's special abilities using my psychic powers. Now we shall see who triumphs. Go!" Ordered Mewtwo, and then came the onslaught. All around Pokemon were beating at each other brutally, but not with moves and powers but physically. It pained the humans to watch something so horrible. They were torturing each other.

"Pokémon aren't meant to fight. Not like this." Whimpered Nurse Joy as she watched on sadly.

"it's useless. What can come out of it?" Asked Misty as she too watched, her eyes filled with unshed tears.

"Nothing but pain." Said Brock, mortified that he couldn't do anything.

"Can't Mewtwo understand it's not right to force Pokémon to battle? They're all living creatures. This just proves that fighting like this is wrong." Said Misty, unsure of what to do.

"What am l doing?" Said Meowth, who was almost about to face off against his clone just as the others were.

"Let's get something straight! You-owth ain't pushing Meowth around." Said Meowth as he stared at the clone who just shook its head sadly and mumbled.

"You mean, we don't have to fight with each other?" Asked Meowth and the clone nodded."

"But how can l trust you? You was born different." He asked but then gasped in realization at what he said as the other Meowth talked to him.

"l almost made a clawful mistake. We do have a lot in common. The same earth, the same air, the same sky. Maybe if we started looking at what's the same instead of always looking at what's different, who knows?" Said Meowth and the other nodded as the two catch sat side by side.

"Quit it! Please stop!" Yelled Ash as he finally climbed down from where he was.

"Are you ok?" Asked Misty, but Ash just shook his head, staring at the scene in front of him, watching sadly as his own Pokémon refused to strike back at the clones even when the clones beat, clawed, scratched and bit at them.

"We have to stop this." He said.

"How? Mewtwo wants to prove how strong those super-clones are." Asked Misty as she also looked around.

"I'd rather risk my life out in Mewtwo's storm than watch Pokémon destroy each other." Said Nurse Joy, making the rest of them nod.

"l wish there were some way to stop them. l don't know what to do." Said Gary, who could barely watch.

"l don't think they'll ever stop. Those Pokémon are ready to fight to the death. That's a fight that nobody's going to win. Someone's got to take a stand. Someone's got to say no and refuse to fight. Just like Pikachu and the others." Ash said, looking determined. He saw Mewtwo and Mew on opposites sides of the field, preparing their attack. He growled and suddenly broke out into a sprint.

"Ash! Stop!" Yelled the group, watching in horror as the two Pokémon launched their attacks. Everybody, even the Pokemon and the clones stopped to watch as the two attacks converged on Ash, who was swallowed up in them. As the attacks dissipated they watched as, with his who body turned to stone, fall to the ground.

"Fool, trying to stop our battle," Mewtwo mumbled as he stared at the scene in front of him. It was such a shock the clone Pokémon, who had never experienced that kind of selflessness in a human before. It was strange, and probing his memories Mewtwo was shocked at how much this human loved and cared for Pokémon. And now he was dead, thanks to him.

Pikachu ran up to Ash and tried to shake him, to wake him up, but nothing worked. He kept trying and trying but nothing worked. He trying shocking the human, but no matter how strong the shock he refused to stand.

"Please, no…" Mumbled Gary as he stared in terror at the small mouse. Pikachu kept trying, slowly but surely breaking on the inside for his partner. Ash was everything to Pikachu. He couldn't die, not like this. Pikachu refused to let this happen, but he couldn't do anything. The small mouse started to cry, louder and louder for his trainer. The Pokémon watched, and slowly but surely everyone in the stadium apart from the two legendaries was crying.

But then, something strange happened. All the tears, they were glowing and slowly, one by one, they were all flying slowly towards Ash, like little fireflies, dissipating as they hit his body. Pikachu's glowed the brightest. And, after a beat, Ash's body turned to normal and the human stirred, opening his eyes to look at his partner, who cheered happily and hugged him.

"The human sacrificed himself to save the Pokémon. l pitted them against each other. Only when they set aside their differences did l see the true power they all share deep inside. l see now that the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant. it is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are." Mewtwo said as he stared on at the scene. He was about to leave when he saw Mew talking to him. He listened, and the more he listened the more he understood about the world. His heart ached for what he never had. With a wave of his hand the clones all faded away, leaving only the originals behind.

"Thank you. I know now what I must do." He said while walking up to Ash, who looked at the Pokémon. "What is it?" He asked, but not in fury or anger, there was none of that in him, which shocked Mewtwo, even now this human was pure of heart and filled with love and happiness. Maybe this was the right decision after all.

"Even now, you do not hate me for what I've done. I wish to know what it means to be a Pokémon. I wish to learn what my heart does not know. What yours knows so well." Mewtwo said as he watched the human. Ash stared for a little bit but then nodded in understanding. Ash stood and walked over to Mewtwo.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked and looked at him.

"Yes. Though, while we shall always remember what transpired here, I think it's best for the others to forget." Mewtwo said, and with a wave of his hand Nurse Joy, Neesha, Corey and Fergus were teleported away, along with all of their Pokémon. Ash nodded and took a Pokémon out of his bag, tapping Mewtwo gently with it, capturing him. He then released the Pokémon and looked at him. "So that's how it feels to be inside of a pokeball. Now, I must go with Mew as we have much to discuss. I will come back to you when I learn more about my existence. Until then, please, stay safe." Said Mewtwo and together with Mew the two vanished, and in a flash, the gang found themselves back on the cliff they had been on when this whole thing started. In another life, they may not have remembered what happened if things had gone differently. But here and now, they would always remember this day's events.


End file.
